Commercial Chapter 11 filings in September totaled 308, a 31 percent decrease over September 2017’s total of 445 filings, according to data provided by Epiq Systems, Inc. Overall business filings decreased to 2,783 filings in September, a 5 percent drop from September 2017’s total of 2,940 filings.

Total U.S. filings registered 57,569 in September 2018, down 4 percent from last September’s total of 60,050, American Bankruptcy Institute reported. The 54,786 consumer filings in September also represented a 4 percent decrease from the September 2017 consumer total of 57,110.

“Struggling businesses and consumers faced with increasing interest rates and global challenges may avoid bankruptcy due to high filing costs,” said ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano. “The recommendations of ABI’s Chapter 11 Commission and the ongoing efforts of the Commission on Consumer Bankruptcy provide paths to making bankruptcy more accessible for distressed businesses and households.”

Commercial bankruptcy filings during the first nine months of the 2018 (Jan. 1-Sept. 30) decreased 4 percent to 28,249 from the 29,294 filings during the same period in 2017. Commercial Chapter 11 filings also decreased during the first nine months of 2018 as the 3,796 filings represented a 12 percent drop from the 4,306 Chapter 11 filings during the first nine months of 2017.

Total U.S. bankruptcy filings fell 2 percent during the first nine months of 2018 from the same period a year ago as the 576,610 filings decreased from 589,252 in 2017. The 548,361 total noncommercial filings through the first three quarters of 2018 also represented a 2 percent drop from the noncommercial filing total of 559,958 through the first three quarters of 2017.

The average nationwide per capita bankruptcy filing rate for the first nine calendar months decreased slightly to 2.48 (total filings per 1,000 population) from the 2.49 rate for the first eight months of the year. The average daily filing total in September 2018 was 3,030, a 1 percent increase from the 3,002 total daily filings registered in September 2017.

States with the highest per capita filing rates (total filings per 1,000 population) through the first nine months of 2018 were:

1. Alabama (5.68)
2. Tennessee (5.52)
3. Georgia (4.60)
4. Mississippi (4.28)
5. Illinois (3.75)

ABI has partnered with Epiq Systems, Inc. to provide the most current bankruptcy filing data for analysts, researchers and members of the news media.