MERCHANTS TRANSPORT OF HICKORY LLC is a owner-operator motor carrier based in HICKORY, North Carolina (USDOT #48104). As of 2026-10-02T14:00:04.692Z, it holds a Not Rated FMCSA safety rating and a FileFlo Carrier Intelligence Score of 88/100 (Low Risk), based on 50 recent inspection(s) and 13 recorded violation(s) in public FMCSA data.
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88/100 Low Risk
| Category | Score | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Safety Rating | 22 | 30 |
| Inspection Pass Rate | 20 | 20 |
| Out-of-Service Rate (vs FMCSA national avg) | 15 | 15 |
| CSA BASIC percentiles | Not measured | n/a |
CIS subtotal normalizes 3 publicly-available FMCSA components (Safety Rating + Inspection Pass Rate + OOS Rate) to a 0-100 surface. CSA SMS BASIC percentiles are not published in FMCSA's public Socrata datasets and the SMS portal at ai.fmcsa.dot.gov is not crawlable at scale, so we surface a transparent "Not measured" rather than fabricate a score component. Carriers with a Compliance Review on record may have published BASIC data on the SAFER snapshot for that DOT.
MERCHANTS TRANSPORT OF HICKORY LLC is a owner-operator operating out of HICKORY, North Carolina with USDOT number 48104. and has no published FMCSA safety rating (most active carriers are unrated unless they have undergone a compliance review). Based on our analysis of federal safety data, MERCHANTS TRANSPORT OF HICKORY LLC has a FileFlo Carrier Intelligence Score (CIS) of 88/100, classified as Low Risk.
MERCHANTS TRANSPORT OF HICKORY LLC has undergone 50 recorded DOT inspections. The vehicle out-of-service rate is 6.0%, which is below the national average of 20.72%, suggesting solid vehicle maintenance practices.
The public FMCSA record for MERCHANTS TRANSPORT OF HICKORY LLC carries 13 recorded violations, and the most recent inspection on file is dated 20260926. Across 50 recorded inspections, the record carries 0 driver out-of-service violations and 3 vehicle out-of-service violations.
A recorded violation is what an inspector wrote down at the roadside. It is not a penalty, and it is not an amount owed: FMCSA assesses civil penalties only after a compliance review classifies specific cited violations. The step that changes this record is the document behind each line, so the next move is to see which records an investigator would ask for and which of them exist today.
A CIS score of 88 places MERCHANTS TRANSPORT OF HICKORY LLC in the Low Risk category. This carrier demonstrates strong safety practices across inspections, maintenance, and driver compliance. Maintaining this score requires ongoing document tracking, timely medical card renewals, and consistent pre-trip inspections.
Motor carriers operating in North Carolina must comply with both federal FMCSA regulations and state-specific transportation requirements. The HICKORY, NC corridor is monitored by FMCSA field offices and state highway patrol units conducting roadside inspections. Carriers based in HICKORY should ensure driver qualification files, vehicle inspection reports, and hours-of-service records are current and audit-ready at all times.
FileFlo helps North Carolina trucking companies automate compliance document tracking across 600+ document types, including CDL medical cards, annual vehicle inspections, drug & alcohol testing records, and driver training certifications.
The FMCSA Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) crash dataset records 20 crash events involving MERCHANTS TRANSPORT OF HICKORY LLC in the available reporting window. Of these, 0 involved a fatality, 5 involved a reported injury, and 19 resulted in a tow-away. 20 events meet the federal-recordable threshold under 49 CFR 390.5 (fatality, injury treated away from the scene, OR tow-away of any vehicle).
Federal-recordable crashes feed the Crash Indicator BASIC in CSA: carriers above the intervention threshold are 7-10x more likely to be selected for a compliance review than peer carriers below the threshold. Insurance carriers also pull federal-recordable crash counts during quoting; a single recordable crash in a 24-month look-back can drive a 10-20% premium increase for owner-operators and small fleets.
Most recent recorded event: I 285 EXIT 44 RP S, DECATUR, GA on 20260511.
Inspections cluster geographically across North Carolina (38), South Carolina (6), West Virginia (1). The concentration in North Carolina is consistent with the carrier's primary lanes and tends to correlate with which state DOT inspector teams MERCHANTS TRANSPORT OF HICKORY LLC's drivers encounter most often at roadside checkpoints.
Across the 50 recorded inspections, MERCHANTS TRANSPORT OF HICKORY LLC's 6.0% vehicle out-of-service rate sits well below the FMCSA 2024 national average of 20.72%. The 0.0% driver out-of-service rate sits materially below the 2024 national average of 5.51%. Vehicle OOS-rate variance is the strongest predictor of Vehicle Maintenance BASIC scores in CSA; driver OOS-rate variance is the strongest predictor of Hours-of-Service Compliance + Driver Fitness BASIC scores.
FMCSA's intervention thresholds (the percentile bands that trigger investigator outreach) are roughly 65th percentile for non-passenger non-hazmat carriers (75th for hazmat, 70th for passenger) on each BASIC. Carriers that consistently sit above the national average across multiple BASICs accumulate intervention risk faster than carriers with mixed performance. A single high BASIC alone rarely triggers enforcement; sustained over-threshold performance does.
Your last out-of-service was 20 days ago.
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| Date | State | Driver OOS | Vehicle OOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20260926 | NC | 0 | 0 |
| 20260921 | NC | 0 | 0 |
| 20260917 | NC | 0 | 0 |
| 20260913 | WV | 0 | 0 |
| 20260913 | NC | 0 | 0 |
| 20260912 | NC | 0 | 1 |
| 20260910 | NC | 0 | 0 |
| 20260910 | OH | 0 | 1 |
| 20260909 | NC | 0 | 0 |
| 20260908 | NC | 0 | 0 |
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MERCHANTS TRANSPORT OF HICKORY LLC (USDOT #48104) does not currently carry a published FMCSA safety rating. A "Not Rated" status is common for carriers that have never had a compliance review: it is not a negative finding. FileFlo scores the carrier at 88/100 (Low Risk) from the public inspection and out-of-service data that is available.
Per its most recent FMCSA MCS-150 filing, MERCHANTS TRANSPORT OF HICKORY LLC operates 0 power unit(s) and 0 driver(s), classifying it as a owner-operator. Fleet counts are self-reported to FMCSA and can lag a carrier's current operation.
MERCHANTS TRANSPORT OF HICKORY LLC is registered with the FMCSA at a physical address in HICKORY, North Carolina, under USDOT number 48104.
FileFlo shows 50 recent DOT inspection(s) and 13 recorded violation(s) for MERCHANTS TRANSPORT OF HICKORY LLC (USDOT #48104), sourced from FMCSA public records and the Socrata transportation datasets. The inspection table on this page lists dates, states, and out-of-service counts.
MERCHANTS TRANSPORT OF HICKORY LLC scores 88/100 (Low Risk) on FileFlo's Carrier Intelligence Score. The score normalizes three public FMCSA components (safety rating, inspection pass rate, and out-of-service rate versus the national average) into one 0-100 surface. CSA SMS BASIC percentiles are not published in FMCSA's public data and are excluded rather than estimated.
The 49 CFR sections a DOT compliance review actually checks, plain-English:
Compliance terms: CSA score · out-of-service order · hours of service · driver qualification file. See DOT compliance software & document management →
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Data sourced from FMCSA public records and the Socrata transportation dataset. Last updated: 2026-10-02T14:00:04.692Z. Information may not reflect the carrier's current status. Dispute this record · Claim this profile