When it is not our truck, we tell you whose it is.
We are an asset carrier first: 6 trucks, our own drivers, MC 1575910 and USDOT 4120654. Some of what customers ask for does not fit on that equipment, and rather than turn the work away or quietly hand it to a stranger, we place it with vetted partner carriers under our brokerage authority and show you exactly who is hauling it.
Illustrative photography — not Prime Trans equipment.What is the difference between a freight broker and a carrier?
A carrier owns trucks and hauls the freight itself under its own operating authority. A broker owns no trucks and arranges the move with a carrier, holding separate FMCSA broker authority and a surety bond. A company can hold both, and should tell you which one it is using on your load.
You always know which one you bought.
- 01
Every quote says which it is
Asset move on our own equipment, or a brokered move. It is stated on the quote, not buried in terms.
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On a brokered load you get the carrier's identity
Company name, MC number, insurance limits and the driver's contact, before the freight is picked up.
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We stay accountable either way
One point of contact, one invoice, one company answering the phone when something goes wrong. Placing the load does not place the responsibility.
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We do not double-broker
Ever. A load we place goes to a carrier that hauls it. If any carrier we use re-brokers a load, they do not get another one.
The honest list.
- Enclosed auto transport — we do not own an enclosed trailer.
- Reefer beyond our scheduled lanes — capacity we sell on our lanes, not a national network.
- Oversize and superload heavy haul beyond [max weight / dimensions].
- Volume surges when a dealer group or auction needs more units moved than 6 trucks can move that week.
- Lanes we do not run — the West Coast, the Northeast corridor, most of Florida below Jacksonville.
- Specialised equipment — hazmat, tanker, livestock and anything else we are not built for.
The same checklist we ask shippers to run on us.
- Active authorityFMCSA operating authority confirmed active on the day of the load, not the day they were onboarded.
- Insurance verified at sourceCertificate direct from the agent with us named, limits checked against the freight value, not a PDF forwarded by the carrier.
- Safety record read, not glanced atThe FMCSA SMS BASIC percentiles, with attention to Unsafe Driving and Vehicle Maintenance.
- Operating historyHow long the authority has been active. A brand-new MC number on a high-value load is a risk we are not taking with your freight.
- No double-brokeringWritten into the carrier agreement, and enforced.
Status note: our brokerage authority is [Broker MC - pending]. Where that shows as a bracketed placeholder, the authority is not yet issued and every load we quote is an asset move on our own trucks. We will not advertise a capability before the paperwork exists — and neither should anyone quoting against us.
Straight answers
Are you a carrier or a broker?
A carrier first, MC 1575910 and USDOT 4120654, with our own trucks and drivers. We also place freight we cannot haul ourselves under separate brokerage authority, and we tell you on the quote which one applies to your load.
Why does it matter whether my load is brokered?
Because it changes who is liable, whose insurance applies and who is physically responsible for your freight. A broker's cargo coverage is not the same thing as a carrier's. Any company that will not tell you which one it is has answered the question.
What is double-brokering?
When a carrier accepts a load and then hands it to another carrier without the shipper's knowledge. It is the single biggest source of cargo theft and unpaid-claim disputes in trucking. We do not do it and we cut off carriers who do.
How do I verify a carrier myself?
Look up the MC or USDOT number on the FMCSA SAFER system, check that the authority is active, get the insurance certificate directly from the agent, and read the safety scores. Our guide on vetting a carrier walks through all four.
Where to go next
Compliance
Authority, insurance limits, safety, ELD tracking, driver qualification and a written claims process. COI and carrier packet on request.
Read on3PLs & brokers
Prime Trans as a carrier partner for 3PLs and brokers: onboarding paperwork, the registrations we hold, how we handle tracking and check calls, and what we will and will not accept.
Read onEnclosed auto transport
Enclosed car transport for collector, exotic, classic and high-value vehicles moving to or from the Carolinas, arranged and managed by a licensed carrier rather than a lead-selling website.
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 the origin, destination, units per week and first pickup date. A written quote comes back the same business day.