Freight risk glossary
The words that decide a load. Clear, plain-language definitions of the freight broker credit and carrier vetting terms carriers, brokers, and shippers run into before they book or tender.
A 0–100 rating of how reliably a freight broker pays carriers. Higher is safer: 85+ is low risk, 70–84 moderate, and below 51 high risk. It reflects freight payment behavior, not consumer credit.
Broker credit score ranges →The average number of days a broker takes to pay a carrier after receiving the invoice. Most freight terms are 30 days; 46–60 days is slow pay and past 60 is high risk for a small carrier's cash flow.
The chance a broker pays slowly, short-pays, disputes, or never pays an invoice. It is the core question a carrier answers before accepting a load.
Broker payment risk →A Motor Carrier docket number assigned by the FMCSA that identifies a broker or carrier in federal registration records. Used to confirm identity and authority.
MC number lookup →A USDOT number that identifies a motor carrier in federal records and ties to its safety, authority, and insurance data.
DOT number lookup →FMCSA permission to operate as a broker or carrier. Active authority means a company is registered — it does not by itself prove they pay well or haul safely.
The $75,000 bond a freight broker must keep on file to protect carriers and shippers against non-payment. A lapsed or exhausted bond is a red flag.
Authority & bond check →Re-brokering a load to another carrier without authorization, hiding who is actually hauling the freight. It can leave a shipper paying twice and a carrier unpaid.
Double-brokering red flags →The review a broker or shipper runs on a carrier's authority, insurance, safety record, and fraud signals before tendering a load.
Carrier vetting →A shell operation that holds active authority but has no real ability to haul — often zero trucks or a hijacked identity — used to accept and re-broker or steal freight.
The FMCSA's free public system for looking up a carrier or broker's authority, bond, and basic registration. It confirms legitimacy but has no credit score or days-to-pay.
The Safety Measurement System groups a carrier's roadside data into Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs) such as Unsafe Driving and Hours-of-Service. The public percentile scores were retired, but the underlying data remains public.
Safety ratings & SMS data →Bodily Injury and Property Damage (primary liability) coverage a carrier files with the FMCSA. Brokers and shippers check it, and cargo coverage, before tendering.
Authority & insurance check →The share of a carrier's roadside inspections that resulted in a truck or driver being placed out of service. High OOS rates signal elevated safety risk.
An FMCSA rating — Satisfactory, Conditional, or Unsatisfactory — of how well a carrier meets federal safety standards, based on inspections, violations, and crashes.
Selling a freight invoice to a factoring company for fast cash. If a broker has weak credit, factors may charge more, hold reserves, or reject the invoice.
For factoring companies →A broker option to pay a carrier faster than standard terms for a fee. A mid-load switch in quick-pay or factoring instructions can be a double-brokering red flag.
The document confirming the agreed rate and load details between broker and carrier. The legal broker name on it should match who is responsible for payment.
A carrier that re-registers under a new identity to shed a poor safety or compliance history. Vetting looks for new authority that behaves like an established operator.
Ongoing alerts on the brokers or carriers you work with, so you learn the moment an authority, bond, insurance, or payment signal changes — not after a problem starts.
SureLoadr
SureLoadr brings broker credit and carrier vetting into one report — days-to-pay, credit band, authority, bond, insurance, safety, and double-brokering signals — so you can act on these signals, not just define them.