OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Admitting that the last few weeks have been "tense", YRC Worldwide CEO Bill Zollars said he’s convinced the "worst is over" from a "customer flight standpoint."

Since the struggling LTL giant sidestepped bankruptcy after reaching a debt-for-equity exchange with its bondholders last week, shippers have been returning to YRC "pretty aggressively," Zollars told the Wall Street Journal.

The fleet’s chairman and CEO added that bankruptcy is presently in his rearview mirror. "(It’s) not on our radar screen now."

Zollars acknowledged that all the ambiguity surrounding YRC’s future scared away customers who were worried about being stranded without a carrier. He didn’t tell the WSJ exactly how much marketshare it lost, though, saying it "was within the company’s expectations."

For the past several months, major competitors had been trying to accelerate the a YRC bankruptcy with very aggressive rate pricing strategies. 

But thanks to a "liquidity cushion" from lenders and political pressure put on by the Teamsters (which represent YRC drivers), the LTL leader has so far survived.

Still, Zollars admits the sector isn’t close to a full-fledged rebound. While conditions are stabilizing, "we haven’t seen any really positive signs" that the economy is improving significantly, he told the paper.