Availability of Trucks

In searching through load boards and setting up that dynamic “Partnership Agreement” between Carriers, Freight Brokers, Shippers, and Freight Forwarders, it is important to know that the truck is not always where the load is.  It takes a great deal of networking to vet the carrier credentials and then use the carrier with the best safety records, and on-time delivery.  The FMCSA website at https://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/ (then click on Licensing and Insurance) gives you some insight and allows you to verify the carrier’s liability insurance and the filing BOC3, Resident Agent Filing.

The site also reveals the carrier’s safety profile, number of trucks, how they operate, and their safety status, and the DOT number for your reference.  Current economic conditions generally determine the supply of trucks available for loads.  As a general  rule, in good times, the fleet of trucks grow until there is an overabundance of available equipment.  At the beginning of the economic boom, the rates are higher than at the mid-way, and lower at the end of the boom due to an oversupply of equipment.