STERLING PAPER CO, DOT #813228 FMCSA Safety & Compliance Report

COLUMBUS, Ohio · DOT #813228 · 20 trucks · 20 drivers · Safety Rating: Satisfactory

STERLING PAPER CO is a mid-size fleet motor carrier based in COLUMBUS, Ohio (USDOT #813228). As of 2026-10-15T14:16:05.738Z, it holds a Satisfactory FMCSA safety rating and a FileFlo Carrier Intelligence Score of 100/100 (Low Risk), based on 21 recent inspection(s) and 18 recorded violation(s) in public FMCSA data.

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Carrier Intelligence Score

100/100 Low Risk

CategoryScoreMax
Safety Rating3030
Inspection Pass Rate2020
Out-of-Service Rate (vs FMCSA national avg)1515
CSA BASIC percentilesNot measuredn/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.

STERLING PAPER CO: COLUMBUS, Ohio Trucking Company

STERLING PAPER CO is a mid-size fleet operating out of COLUMBUS, Ohio with USDOT number 813228. The company operates 20 power units and holds a current FMCSA safety rating of Satisfactory. Based on our analysis of federal safety data, STERLING PAPER CO has a FileFlo Carrier Intelligence Score (CIS) of 100/100, classified as Low Risk.

FMCSA Safety Record & Inspection History

STERLING PAPER CO has undergone 21 recorded DOT inspections. The vehicle out-of-service rate is 4.8%, which is below the national average of 20.72%, suggesting solid vehicle maintenance practices.

Recorded Violations and Out-of-Service Status

The public FMCSA record for STERLING PAPER CO carries 18 recorded violations, and the most recent inspection on file is dated 20261007. Across 21 recorded inspections, the record carries 0 driver out-of-service violations and 1 vehicle out-of-service violation.

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.

What a 100/100 Carrier Intelligence Score Means

A CIS score of 100 places STERLING PAPER CO 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.

Ohio Trucking Compliance: COLUMBUS Area Carriers

Motor carriers operating in Ohio must comply with both federal FMCSA regulations and state-specific transportation requirements. The COLUMBUS, OH corridor is monitored by FMCSA field offices and state highway patrol units conducting roadside inspections. Carriers based in COLUMBUS should ensure driver qualification files, vehicle inspection reports, and hours-of-service records are current and audit-ready at all times.

STERLING PAPER CO falls under the Midwestern Service Center for FMCSA field-office oversight (region code 05). Service-center territory drives which FMCSA Investigator team would conduct a new-entrant audit or compliance review if one is triggered for this carrier.

FileFlo helps Ohio 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.

Authority Type, Hazmat Status, and Operating Profile

STERLING PAPER CO is classified by FMCSA as an interstate carrier.

The carrier is classified as Private Property, meaning it transports its own goods incidental to its primary business, exempt from MC-number authority but still subject to safety regulations under 49 CFR Part 390.

Business organization type: Corporation.

STERLING PAPER CO is not flagged in FMCSA Census as a hazmat carrier (HM indicator: N), so the carrier is not subject to the additional 49 CFR Subchapter C hazmat regulations.

Operational range per MCS-150 filing: interstate beyond 100 miles (long-haul, 7 drivers); intrastate beyond 100 miles (7 drivers); intrastate within 100 miles (6 drivers). The 100-mile boundary matters because drivers operating within a 100-air-mile radius qualify for the short-haul exception under 49 CFR 395.1(e)(1), which removes the requirement to maintain RODS for the day.

Self-reported MCS-150 annual mileage: 1,130,783 miles. MCS-150 mileage feeds the FMCSA SafeStat exposure denominator: drastically understated mileage can artificially inflate CSA BASIC percentile scores by reducing the per-mile exposure baseline. Updates are required every 24 months under 49 CFR 390.19.

Fleet Composition and Driver Profile

The carrier reports 20 CDL-holding drivers on file. Each CDL driver must have a current Driver Qualification File (DQF) maintained per 49 CFR 391.51, including a Medical Examiner's Certificate, an annual MVR review, and a record of road-test results.

Intrastate driver count: 13. Intrastate drivers may be subject to state-specific CDL endorsement and hours-of-service variances depending on the state.

FMCSA Crash History

The FMCSA Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) crash dataset records 9 crash events involving STERLING PAPER CO in the available reporting window. Of these, 0 involved a fatality, 5 involved a reported injury, and 8 resulted in a tow-away. 9 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: ROUTE 3104 W, PITTSBURGH CITY, PA on 20210928.

STERLING PAPER CO's Inspection Fingerprint: Geographic Pattern and Trend

Inspections cluster geographically across Pennsylvania (18), Ohio (3). The concentration in Pennsylvania is consistent with the carrier's primary lanes and tends to correlate with which state DOT inspector teams STERLING PAPER CO's drivers encounter most often at roadside checkpoints.

How STERLING PAPER CO Compares to the National Average

Across the 21 recorded inspections, STERLING PAPER CO's 4.8% 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.

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Recent DOT Inspections: STERLING PAPER CO

Open any inspection for the records an auditor would ask for behind it: free, from USDOT 813228, no signup.

DateStateDriver OOSVehicle OOSNext step
2026-10-07PA00Audit check
2026-09-17PA00Audit check
2026-09-08PA00Audit check
2026-09-02PA00Audit check
2026-08-21PA00Audit check
2026-05-12PA00Audit check
2026-03-10PA00Audit check
2026-01-13PA00Audit check
2024-12-18PA00Audit check
2024-10-07PA00Audit check

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Frequently asked questions about STERLING PAPER CO

What is STERLING PAPER CO's FMCSA safety rating?

STERLING PAPER CO (USDOT #813228) holds a "Satisfactory" FMCSA safety rating. FileFlo's Carrier Intelligence Score for the carrier is 100/100 (Low Risk), derived from its safety rating, inspection pass rate, and out-of-service rate versus the FMCSA national average.

How large is STERLING PAPER CO's fleet?

Per its most recent FMCSA MCS-150 filing, STERLING PAPER CO operates 20 power unit(s) and 20 driver(s), classifying it as a mid-size fleet. Fleet counts are self-reported to FMCSA and can lag a carrier's current operation.

Where is STERLING PAPER CO based?

STERLING PAPER CO is registered with the FMCSA at a physical address in COLUMBUS, Ohio, under USDOT number 813228.

What is STERLING PAPER CO's DOT inspection and violation history?

FileFlo shows 21 recent DOT inspection(s) and 18 recorded violation(s) for STERLING PAPER CO (USDOT #813228), sourced from FMCSA public records and the Socrata transportation datasets. The inspection table on this page lists dates, states, and out-of-service counts.

What is STERLING PAPER CO's FileFlo Carrier Intelligence Score?

STERLING PAPER CO scores 100/100 (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.

Federal rules a carrier like STERLING PAPER CO is audited against

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 →

Every Ohio carrier with a recent inspection on file →

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Data sourced from FMCSA public records and the Socrata transportation dataset. Last updated: 2026-10-15T14:16:05.738Z. Information may not reflect the carrier's current status. Dispute this record · Claim this profile

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