Book the truck, not the middleman.
When you call Prime Trans you are talking to the carrier, the company whose trucks, drivers and insurance move your units. Nobody posts your cars to a load board or takes a cut in the middle, and the dispatcher who quotes the run knows where the truck is.
Illustrative photography — not Prime Trans equipment.What is the difference between a car hauler and an auto transport broker?
A car hauler, or motor carrier, operates the trucks, files the liability insurance and is responsible for the vehicles in its care. A broker arranges the move for a fee using another company's truck and never takes possession of the vehicle. Federal rules (49 CFR 371.7) bar a broker from presenting itself as a carrier.
Fewer hands on your cars.
- One partyThe company on the bill of lading is the company that loaded your car. A claim goes to the carrier that had the car, not through a broker to a carrier you never met.
- No double marginA broker's price is the carrier's price plus the broker's margin. When you book the carrier, you pay for the truck, not the layer.
- Dispatch knowsThe person who quoted your run can tell you which driver has your units and when they will arrive.
- Same trucksRepeat work goes to the same drivers, who learn your lot, your gate and your hours.
- The recordEvery unit is photographed at pickup and at delivery on our eBOL, and you get both sets.
It takes two minutes on FMCSA's site.
- 01
Look up the number
Search USDOT 4120654 or MC 1575910 on FMCSA's SAFER Company Snapshot at safer.fmcsa.dot.gov. It is free and public.
- 02
Read the entity type
Ours says CARRIER, authorized as a Motor Carrier of Property. A broker's record says BROKER. If a company quoting you a truck holds only broker authority, it is arranging the move, not running it.
- 03
Ask who owns the truck
Ask dispatch for the unit number and the driver's name. A carrier can answer on the call.
SAFER will also show that we are a young carrier, in FMCSA's New Entrant program, with no safety rating assigned yet, which is normal at our age. Our roadside record is on the same page. Over the 24 months to 20 September 2026, our vehicle out-of-service rate was 13.3% against a national average of 22.26%, and our driver out-of-service rate was zero against 6.67%.
And what we don't.
Open car hauling you book with us rides on our own trucks, under our authority and our insurance. We haul vehicles only: no general freight, and no enclosed trailer of our own. If a move needs equipment we do not run, we say so on the first call.
Straight answers
Is Prime Trans a broker?
No. Prime Trans LLC is an FMCSA-authorized motor carrier, MC 1575910 / USDOT 4120654, running its own car haulers with its own drivers. It has applied for broker authority for freight and enclosed moves, and that is pending. Open car hauling is never brokered.
Is booking the carrier directly cheaper than using a broker?
Often, on lanes the carrier already runs, because there is no margin between you and the truck. On a one-off move far from the carrier's lanes, a broker can sometimes find a cheaper backhaul. We'll tell you which it is.
How do I check a car hauler's authority?
Search the USDOT or MC number on FMCSA's SAFER Company Snapshot. Check that the entity type is CARRIER and the operating status is authorized. Then ask for a certificate of insurance, issued by the carrier's agent, that names you as the holder.
Who is liable if my car is damaged?
The motor carrier that had the vehicle, under the Carmack Amendment, which is why the name on the bill of lading matters. A broker never takes possession of the vehicle. With us, the claim goes to the company that loaded the car.
Where to go next
Car hauler or broker?
How an auto transport broker listing works, what changes when a dealer books the car hauler directly, when a broker makes sense, and how to tell them apart.
Read onHow to vet a carrier
A five-step check on any carrier or broker with free FMCSA SAFER data: authority type and status, insurance at source, safety scores, history, re-brokering.
Read onDealerships
A standing dealer-vendor agreement: trades, auction-to-frontline, customer deliveries and recon shuttles, one call, photos at both ends, Net 15 for approved accounts.
Read onAuction transport
Auction pickups from Manheim, America's Auto Auction, Copart, IAA and ADESA on our own car haulers. Release handled, photos at the gate, delivered to your lot or your exporter's warehouse.
Read onCompliance
Authority, insurance limits including the per-vehicle cargo limit, safety record, driver qualification and a written claims process. COI and carrier packet on request.
Read onCarrier packet
What is in our carrier packet and how to get it, plus a certificate of insurance naming you as certificate holder.
Read onA unit on the lot costs you every day it sits there.
Tell us where the units are, where they are going, how many and when. A written quote comes back the same business day, from the carrier that will haul them.