Carrier411 receives tens of thousands of reports daily, all from brokers and shippers that opt to send in reports on their own. If you’re new to Freight Guard, often listed as just FreightGuard, this 101 guide will explain what this carrier monitoring service is and why it may be beneficial for you or your fleet.
What is Freight Guard?
Freight Guard is a reporting system that is designed to help members see reports on companies that they may haul freight for in the trucking industry. For example, reports can be sent in for:
- Brokers
- Carriers
You’ll submit reports, and while these reports are not “official,” they’re available for all members to see.
Who is Carrier411?
Carrier411 provides a carrier monitoring service, and it’s considered one of the most well-known and respected in the industry. The provider offers you the option to use the service for free for 30 days to receive:
- Carrier alerts
- Carrier snapshots
- Carrier locator
The company helps you monitor trucking companies and qualify them, too. You can view a wealth of information about the companies, including:
- Insurance changes
- Carrier safety rating
- Operating authority
- BASIC cores
- More
If you need to create Due Diligence Certificates, you can right through the portal. Carrier411 has a large, ever-growing database that includes over 1.48 million companies that they track. They have information for every one of the following so long as they’re registered with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA):
- Single motor carriers
- Freight forwarders
- Brokers
Data has been archived in the company’s database since 2004, and they even track compliance changes. If you need to conduct due diligence, the database makes it far easier to do so.
An automated website makes it easy to monitor the information of trucking companies and owner-operators to ensure that they have a satisfactory safety record, proper insurance and operating authority.
What is a Carrier411 Report?
It’s important to know that Carrier411 states that all of the reports are simply an opinion of their members and that they do not reflect the opinions of Carrier411. With that said, there are a few types of reports that can be made:
Motor Carrier Report Criteria
One or more of the following must be included in the report for it to be valid:
- Back-solicited shipper
- Canceled after the load is accepted
- Claim issues that remain unresolved
- Deceptive or unethical business practices
- Delivery/pickup service failures
- Fraudulent activity
- Load held hostage
- Modification of agreement in transit
- No call/show
- Routine canceling
- Theft or loss of freight
- Unauthorized shipment re-brokering
3PL Provider or Property Broker Provider Report Criteria
One or more of the following must be included in the report for it to be valid:
- Brokers freight without broker/FF authority
- Deceptive or unethical business practices
- Fraudulent activity
- Issues with payment
- Operates without bond/trust fund
- Operating under an alias
- Unauthorized shipment re-brokering
How Long Does a Freight Guard Report Last?
Freight Guard reports are faxed to the company being reported, and they have to reply within 72 hours. The company has one opportunity to reply to the report. If a reply is received, the person submitting the report can delete or update it based on the response.
All reports are automatically released after 72 hours.
Once released, then every member will have the opportunity to review the reports provided.
Benefits of Freight Guard Reports
Carrier411 is a service that should benefit anyone. The main benefit of using the company is that it helps keep freight moving and limits risks through the use of reports that you can use for due diligence.
Brokers have the option of using the platform to perform a lot of their due diligence for them, such as:
- Option to create Due Diligence certificates
- Easy way to view carrier authority
- A quick way to view insurance
- Monitor carrier safety ratings
- SMS BASIC Scores
Brokers can use the information before any problem begins with a shipment. Since you can try out the platform for free for 30-days, it’s often worth it to try for brokers.
However, it’s also not perfect.
There are some reports that are not accurate or used to slander a company, and as a result, you can lose business due to these reports. The main issue is that brokers have the opportunity to vent their concerns with Freight Guard, and carriers do not have ample opportunity to reply to complaints.
From a broker standpoint, it offers:
- Protection against working with unprofessional carriers
- Easy way to conduct due diligence
However, truckers often claim that a small mistake and a single report on Carrier411 is enough to lead to a 25% drop in potential clients.
Final Thoughts
Carrier411 aims to provide one of the most complete and robust databases for brokers to perform their own due diligence. However, there are always going to be drawbacks with systems like these because you’re often only seeing one side of the story.
That said, with the option to try the platform for free for a month, it’s definitely worth trying out for brokers.
You can find a lot of information about carriers on the site from brokers that have first-hand experience working with them.
To start your 30 day trial visit https://www.carrier411.com/
