Understanding SAFER Company Snapshot Data Fields for Freight Trucking Companies (2024)

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The FMCSA’s Company Snapshot data serves a pivotal role within the freight trucking industry. This invaluable resource aids stakeholders in comprehending the operational aspects of a carrier, influencing decision-making processes. The Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) maintains this snapshot data, ensuring accurate and up-to-date information for the industry. But what do the individual Snapshot data fields mean? Let’s take a closer look.

Key Snapshot Data Fields Explained

SAFER Company Snapshot data captures a carrier’s operational status at a specific moment. It contains critical details such as contact details, physical location, identification numbers, type of operation, inspection summary, crash summary, and safety rating. Also included is the type of cargo that the entity suggests they carry. Each element, managed by FMCSA information systems, provides insights into the carrier’s operations, compliance, and performance.

Legal Name

Legal name is the full legal business name used to officially incorporate, register with the Secretary of State, and file tax returns. This Snapshot data ensures accurate carrier identification, fostering trust and transparency between industry players.

DBA Name

The “doing business as” (DBA) name is their trade name, and enhances the carrier’s recognizability. It helps establish brand identity and reputation in the market.

Physical Address

The physical address is the legal location where the main business is located. This is described as the address where the safety records will be kept, and where the FMCSA will visit for on-site safety audits, and compliance reviews. As such, the physical address can not be a PO Box. Physical address plays a vital role in capturing SAFER web Snapshot data. Brokers and shippers will leverage physical address for logistics planning, to source carrier capacity, and verify identity with other contact details

Phone

The phone number as listed on Company Snapshot is the company phone number for their main place of business. If this is not the case, brokers and shippers may have cause for concern as the company has not followed the guidelines required on form MCS-150.

Mailing Address

The mailing address field covers correspondence, documentation, communication, and contact with the FMCSA. This address can be a PO Box.

USDOT Number

The USDOT number, also called the census number, is assigned sequentially for new applicants by MCMIS, and is a unique identifier for each census record. Entities should have only one USDOT number.

State Carrier ID

The state-assigned carrier ID number is vital for intrastate carriers to aid private fleets and tractor-trailers in maintaining compliance.

MC/MX/FF Number(s)

The MC/MX/FF number, issued by the FMCSA and visible in theFMCSA Snapshot identifies carriers involved in interstate operations, ensuring appropriate oversight and regulation.

DUNS Number

The DUNS number, a corporate registration number issued by Dun & Bradstreet, enhances the carrier’s credibility and recognition in the corporate world.

Entity Type

The entity type field identifies the operation type, distinguishing between carriers, hazardous materials shippers, or a combination of both, and registrants.

Carrier Operations

This field highlights the carrier’s engagement in interstate, intrastate hazardous material, or intrastate non-hazardous material transport activities, providing a clear picture of the operations.

Shipper Operations

This field identifies the shipper’s engagement in interstate or intrastate hazardous material shipping activities, offering insights into the shipper’s specializations.

Operation Classification

This field is an indication of the type or types of business the company engages in, and what FMCSA regulations the company must comply with.

  • Authorized for Hire means a motor carrier who receives compensation for transporting FMCSA-regulated goods, household goods owned by others, or passengers. As the classification suggests, you can hire this type of carrier.
  • Exempt for Hire means a carrier who receives compensation for moving only exempt goods (not regulated by FMCSA). A definition of commodities that are exempt would include unprocessed or unmanufactured goods, fruits and vegetables, ag commodities and livestock, and other items of little or no value.
  • Private Property is just that. The commercial vehicles transport their own cargo and are not for hire to others outside of their business.
  • Private Passenger Business is a for-profit company that provides interstate transportation of passengers.
  • Private Passenger Non-business is a not-for-profit company that uses a commercial vehicle to provide transportation of passengers…specifically, the transportation service is not offered to the general public. (example: not-for-profit youth center with a bus used to transport youth on field trips)
  • Migrant is interstate transportation of three or more migrant workers to or from their employment using any vehicle other than a passenger automobile or station wagon.
  • US Mail is the transportation of US mail under contract with the US Postal Service.
  • Federal, State, Local Government, or Indian Tribe is transportation of property or passengers by that entity.

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Power Units

Power Units is the combined number of all commercial vehicles owned, term, or trip leased by the motor carrier, offering insights into the carrier’s fleet capacity. This number includes trucks, tractors, tank trucks, motor coaches, school buses, mini-bus, vans, and limousines.

Drivers

This provides the total number of all drivers employed by the carrier/shipper, indicating the human resource capacity of the entity.

MCS-150 Form Date

The MCS-150 form date field indicates the date of submission of the MCS-150 Registration Form through the FMCSA portal. Entities are required to update their MCS-150 every two years, to help ensure the FMCSA has accurate information towards their Safety Measurement System (SMS). Out-of-date MCS-150 forms can be an indication of business management issues and out-of-service orders based on carrier VMT outdated.

MCS-150 Form Mileage

The MCS-150 form mileage field presents the total company vehicle miles traveled (mileage) recorded for the previous fiscal year, providing insights into the carrier’s operational range. This mileage data is used by FMCSA in their Safety Measurement System (SMS). Failure to update this field results in a carrier VMT Outdated designation.

Cargo Carried

This identifies the type of cargo transported, offering insights into the carrier’s specialization and capabilities. Carriers are not required to specify the exact equipment types they own so this data can be used to infer equipment type.

Inspections

This table provides a breakdown of roadside inspections conducted within the past two years. Inspections can range from a complete inspection to a driver or vehicle only focused. The table shows how many of the inspections resulted in an Out of Service (OOS) violation, and how the carrier’s OOS percentage compares with the national average. The Inspection Table clearly shows the carrier’s compliance with safety regulations and is used to gauge how the company operates on the road. The inspections table is accompanied by the reportable crashes table.

Crashes

The crash table records and categorizes reportable crashes, including fatal, injury, and tow categories, giving insights into the carrier’s safety record.

Carrier Safety Rating

This company safety profiles field reflects compliance with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR), including safety ratings and compliance status determination. Carrier Safety Rating codes are Satisfactory, Conditional, and Unsatisfactory. Most carriers have no rating code, which simply means they have not been prioritized for a full safety or compliance review at their place of business.

Operating Status

This provides the current status for operating under the given USDOT number. Operating statuses include out-of-service, inactive USDOT number, authorized for passenger/property/HHG (authorized for interstate commerce with active MC number), non-authorized (not authorized for interstate commerce with inactive MC number), and active (carrier has their USDOT number, does not have an MC number, and is generally intrastate). Operating Status is an important field to round out the profile for carrier monitoring.

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Knowing the specifics of the SAFER Company Snapshot data fields is essential to understanding trucking authority. Carrier Details provides this data en masse which significantly enhances decision-making processes by enabling technology with a foundational repository of the most updated FMCSA source data. Carrier Details is the trusted expert in managing and distributing FMCSA source data. Every USDOT and MC number, every detail, with data feeds that are dependable and reliable. Contact Carrier Details today for more information.

Understanding SAFER Company Snapshot Data Fields for Freight Trucking Companies (2)

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Understanding SAFER Company Snapshot Data Fields for Freight Trucking Companies (2024)

FAQs

Understanding SAFER Company Snapshot Data Fields for Freight Trucking Companies? ›

A snapshot is a condensed view of the company's profile as maintained by the Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS). It includes information on the company's location, identification numbers, type, cargo carried or shipped, inspection summary, crash summary, and safety rating.

What is a safer web company snapshot used for? ›

SAFER Company Snapshot data captures a carrier's operational status at a specific moment. It contains critical details such as contact details, physical location, identification numbers, type of operation, inspection summary, crash summary, and safety rating.

How to check a trucking company's safety record? ›

Answer: To check a company's safety rating, you can visit the FMCSA's Safety and Fitness Electronic Records (SAFER) website. On the SAFER website, you can search for a company by name, USDOT number, or MC/MX number.

What does safer stand for in the trucking industry? ›

The Safety and Fitness Electronic Records (SAFER) System offers company safety data to industry and the public over the internet.

What does company snapshot mean? ›

The Company Snapshot is a concise electronic record of company identification, size, commodity information, and safety record, including the safety rating (if any), a roadside out-of-service inspection summary, and crash information.

What is the purpose of snapshot? ›

Snapshots are generally created for data protection, but they can also be used for testing application software and data mining. A storage snapshot can be used for disaster recovery when information is lost due to human error or when any event that damages or deletes data occurs.

What is a snapshot and what are the two types of snapshots? ›

Instant snapshots are local disk backups that are stored in the same zone or region as the source disk. Archive and standard snapshots are remote backups of disk data stored separately from the source disk.

What trucking company has the best safety record? ›

Trucking Companies With the Best CSA Scores

Bison Transport: Awarded 1st place in Division VI (100 million+ miles) of the TCA Fleet Safety Awards in 2021, highlighting their excellent safety record. FedEx Freight: Boasts the lowest driver OOS rate at only 0.4%, compared to the national average of 5.8%.

What is a good safety score for a trucking company? ›

Generally, any score that's 50 or over needs to be taken seriously. If you have a score of 65% or higher in Crash Indicator, HOS Compliance, or Unsafe Driving you'll be subject to an FMCSA investigation (this lowers to 50% if you transport passengers or hazardous materials).

What trucking company has the worst accident record? ›

FedEx Ground and UPS consistently have the highest number of truck accidents in the United States. According to the FMCSA Safety and Fitness Electronic Records (SAFER) System: FedEx Ground had 80 fatal truck accidents from April 2020–April 2022, the highest in the nation. The company also had 911 injury accidents.

What does SMS mean in trucking? ›

The Safety Measurement System (SMS)

What do truckers call city cops? ›

Truckers are usually stuck in the county they are doing jobs for, and that means they have to deal with a lot of the big time county cops. So, of course, they would get a nickname too. A city cop is known as a Local Yokel in trucking terms.

What does f stand for in safer? ›

The SAFER System of Defensive Driving is a program designed to help drivers stay more mentally active and aware while driving. SAFER stands for: Space, attitude, foresight, eyesight, and responsibility.

What is snapshot example? ›

Examples of snapshot in a Sentence

fans excitedly took snapshots of the rock star as he dashed into the hotel. Recent Examples on the Web The pair both cradle her baby bump, which is exposed in some of the snapshots.

How to look up a trucking company's safety rating? ›

You can get yours or another company's safety rating by going first to the SAFER Website: https://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/ then under “FMCSA Searches” pick “Company Snapshot”.

What is company snapshot FMCSA? ›

A snapshot is a condensed view of the company's profile as maintained by the Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS). It includes information on the company's location, identification numbers, type, cargo carried or shipped, inspection summary, crash summary, and safety rating.

Why is snapshot needed? ›

A snapshot is an incremental backup, which means that we save only the blocks on the device that have changed since your most recent snapshot. This minimizes the time required to create the snapshot and saves on storage costs by not duplicating data.

Which benefits does the snapshot feature provide? ›

The main benefit of a snapshot is that it can be created very rapidly—and frequently—allowing for a quick and straightforward way to recover files or data if something goes wrong. Data can be restored to a specific point-in-time when it was in a good state.

What are EBS snapshots used for? ›

EBS Snapshots are a point-in-time copy of your data, and can be used to enable disaster recovery, migrate data across regions and accounts, and improve backup compliance. You can create and manage your EBS Snapshots through the AWS Management Console, AWS Command Line Interface (CLI), or the AWS SDKs.

What is a secure snapshot? ›

Secure snapshots provide protection from accidental or malicious deletion of backup data and are effective against ransom attacks. Generating secure snapshots guarantees that you can restore data to a previous point in time.

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