EXHIBIT 99.5


TRANSIT GROUP OBTAINS $20 MILLION CREDIT FACILITY

December 19, 1997 12:26 PM EST

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS  WIRE)-- Dec. 19, 1997 -- Transit Group,  Inc.  (Nasdaq Small
Cap:  TRGP) today  announced  that it has finalized a $20 million  revolver/term
credit facility with Birmingham,  Alabama-based AmSouth Bank N.A. The new credit
facility,  which provides Transit Group with LIBOR or prime-rate pricing options
and is secured by accounts receivable, expires in May 2000.

"We are pleased to establish this  relationship  with AmSouth,  which we believe
signifies  growing  recognition  of our  consolidation  strategy in the trucking
industry" said Transit Group's President and Chief Executive Officer,  Philip A.
Belyew.  "This new facility will provide  important  support to our  acquisition
program  going  forward,  substantially  increasing  our capacity to fund future
transactions.  In addition, this facility will augment our working capital needs
as we continue to expand."

Belyew noted that the Company's new credit facility would be used immediately to
retire  approximately $5 million  outstanding  under a line of credit issued for
one of Transit Group's operating  subsidiaries.  No charges or penalties will be
incurred in this early repayment of the Company's subsidiary debt.

During  1997 and  since  Transit  Group  began to  implement  its  consolidation
strategy, the Company has acquired four trucking companies across the Southeast,
including  Carroll Fulmer Group,  Inc. in Groveland,  Florida;  Carolina Pacific
Distributors  in Highpoint,  North  Carolina;  Capitol  Warehouse in Louisville,
Kentucky;  and  Service  Express  in  Tuscaloosa,  Alabama.  These  acquisitions
represent  total annual  revenues in excess of $100  million.  In addition,  the
Company  recently  announced  that it has entered  into an  agreement to acquire
Rainbow  Trucking  in  Louisville,   Kentucky,  which  has  annual  revenues  of
approximately $12.5 million. This acquisition, which is subject to due diligence
and other conditions, is expected to close by year's end.

Comments in this news release  regarding  the Company's  business  which are not
historical  facts  are  forward  looking   statements  that  involve  risks  and
uncertainties. Among these risks are that the Company is in a highly competitive
business,  has history of operating  losses,  and is pursuing a growth  strategy
that  relies in part on the  completion  of  acquisitions  of  companies  in the
trucking  industry.  There can be no  assurance  that in its highly  competitive
business  environment,  the Company  will  successfully  improve  its  operating
profitability or consummate such acquisitions.

Transit Group,  headquartered in Atlanta,  Georgia,  is a holding company in the
business of acquiring and consolidating short- and long-haul trucking companies,
particularly  truckload  carriers  based  in  the  southeastern  United  States.
Trucking companies that operate as part of Transit Group are located in Alabama,
Florida,  Kentucky  and North  Carolina,  and  comprise a fleet of more than 400
trucks and 1,000 trailers, serving customers nationwide.