Understanding the report

Every report is built from a handful of public signals. Each one answers a different question. Here's what each section is telling you, in plain language.

DOT status

Question: Is this counterparty currently allowed to operate?

The DOT status is the most fundamental signal. A counterparty in good standing will show as active. Anything else (out of service, content not current, deactivated) is a hard stop and you should not tender or accept.

Operating authority

Question: Are they authorized to do what you're contracting for?

Operating authority covers what a carrier or broker is allowed to do: for-hire vs. private, common vs. contract, property vs. household goods, broker vs. carrier authority. Without the right authority for your load it's a no-go, regardless of how the rest of the report looks.

Carrier operation

Question: Interstate or intrastate?

If you're moving freight across state lines, you need an interstate authority. This section tells you which.

Inspection volume

Question: Has this carrier been seen enough for the safety numbers to mean anything?

A carrier with very few roadside inspections doesn't have a meaningful track record yet, good or bad. We surface inspection volume so you can weigh the rest of the safety numbers in context.

Out-of-service rates (vehicle and driver)

Question: When inspectors do look, how often do things go wrong?

There are two separate numbers: vehicle OOS (equipment problems serious enough to ground the truck) and driver OOS (driver problems serious enough to ground the driver: hours of service, medical, license). High OOS rates are the single most predictive bad-outcome signal on the report.

Equipment and VIN signals

Question: Is the equipment actually theirs?

We watch for signs that a carrier's trucks have been seen operating under other MC numbers. Rentals, equipment sharing, double-brokering, and chameleon behavior all show up here. If you see a flag, slow down and verify.

Authority tenure

Question: How long have they been doing this?

A brand-new authority isn't automatically bad, but it does mean there isn't much history to look at. Established counterparties carry more weight in either direction.

Insurance history

Question: Are they continuously covered, and by whom?

Two things matter here: whether the carrier has had continuous coverage (gaps are a real warning sign), and which insurer is on file (some insurers cover a heavy concentration of higher-risk carriers). The report flags both.

Fleet activity

Question: Does their inspection footprint match the size of fleet they claim?

A carrier reporting one hundred trucks but appearing in inspections at the rate of a five-truck operation is worth a closer look. That mismatch shows up here.

Each section contributes to the overall grade, but a green report can still have one flagged section, and an orange report can still have one or two strong sections. Always glance at the sections, not just the color.