Fleet typeIdentity
Small fleet
89 power units. Brokers price each fleet type apart.
Carrier profile · USDOT 457780
PALMER TRUCKS INC
DBA PALMER LEASING GROUP
89 power unitsavg 5.8 yrLocal · 2 statesINDIANAPOLIS, IN
CARRIER ACTIVEHAZMAT
Observed fleet · trailing 24 mo daily
89Power units
6 observed · MCS-150
—Trailers seen
None observed · 24 mo
5.8Avg age (yr)
2016–2026 · vPIC
Click to see how we scored it
Load decision · FMCSA snapshot · 2026-06-13
Clear to load
Active authority and a clean federal record. No blocking issues found.
Established 35 yearsOut-of-service rates below national average
Operating authority3434 yr active
since 1991Insurance (BIPD)Unknown
FMCSA L&IVehicle OOS · 24mo0.00.0 %
▼ 22.26% nat'lCrashes · fatal33
clean 24 moVektor intelligence · beyond the federal recordProprietary signals computed from VIN-decoded inspections & daily FMCSA snapshots
Fleet age vs peersNewer
5.8 yr
Model years 2016–2026 · peer benchmark computing.
Identity stabilityStable
34 yr unchanged
Same registration since 1991 — no chameleon / reincarnation signal.
AI readFull read
Is PALMER TRUCKS INC safe to work with?
Is PALMER TRUCKS INC safe to load? PALMER TRUCKS INC (USDOT 457780) is an active small-fleet motor carrier based in INDIANAPOLIS, IN, operating 89 power units and 89 drivers. Operating authority has been active 34 years (past the 24-month broker-confidence threshold). Across 11 roadside inspections, its vehicle out-of-service rate is 0.0% (below the 22.26% national average), with 0 reportable crashes in the last 24 months. FMCSA has not assigned a safety rating. Vektor rates it clear to load (100/100). Source: FMCSA SAFER/MCMIS, last updated 2026-06-13.
FMCSA fields + Vektor analysis · updated 2026-06-13
PTPALMER TRUCKS INC 100
01
Safety
11 inspections · 24 mo · vs national benchmarks
Out-of-service rate· trailing 24 months vs national benchmark
Vehicle OOS 0.0% (24-mo)3 veh insp · 24-mo · nat'l 22.26%
050%nat'l 22.26%
Driver OOS 0.0% (24-mo)6 drv insp · 24-mo · nat'l 6.67%
030%nat'l 6.67%
OOS trajectory· trailing 6-mo vehicle-OOS rate vs national
0.0% now▼ Improving
Inspection coverage· expected vs observed · the fraud signal
Inspection coverage
How heavily FMCSA inspects this fleet for its size — it tells you how much to trust the safety signals above. Thin coverage on a young authority is a fraud signal nobody else surfaces.
Under-inspected
Expected
Well-monitored
Heavily inspected
≈0.0 / unit·yr
thin signalabundant signal
Few roadside inspections for a 89-unit fleet — the out-of-service and violation signals above rest on a small sample, so weight them cautiously. Thin coverage on a young authority is itself a flag.
- Registered power units
- 89
- Inspections · 24 mo
- 6
- Annualized
- ≈3 / yr
- Coverage
- ≈0.0 inspections / unit · yr
Violation themes· decoded · grouped by BASIC
What this carrier actually gets cited for — FMCSA violation codes decoded into plain English, ranked by frequency.
- 392.2 State/local traffic law violation (speeding, etc.)Unsafe Driving5
- 390.21 USDOT number marking on vehicleUnsafe Driving2
- 392.16 Failure to use seat beltUnsafe Driving2
- 396.17 Periodic (annual) inspectionVehicle Maintenance2
- 396.3 Inspection / repair / maintenance not performedVehicle Maintenance2 · 1 OOS
02
Authority & insurance
Can they legally + adequately haul your load?
Insurance continuity· insurer · policy · lapses
No insurance filing history on record.
03
Equipment & fleet
VIN-decoded · NHTSA vPIC
Capacity· power units = haulable capacity; trailers are towed
- Registered power units (MCS-150)
- 89
- Observed power (24 mo)
- 6
- Trailers (towed)
- 0
Capacity is power units only — trailers are towed equipment and are never summed into a fleet-size figure.
Fleet age· model years · decoded VINs
Average age
2026
Newest model yr
2016
Oldest model yr
VINs decoded
04
Operations & lanes
Revealed by inspection density across 2 states · 24 mo
Operating footprint· revealed by roadside-inspection geography
Operating radiusLocal
revealedStates observed22
US statesInspections · 24 mo66
IN busiestInspection density by state· each tile = a state · shade = inspections, last 24 mo
Home base
INDIANAPOLIS, IN
Top corridor
IN
Density
fewermore
05
Network & fraud
Affiliated entities & reincarnation signals · for review, not a verdict
No shared-VIN flow in the last 12 months
None of this carrier's trucks were inspected under another USDOT in the last 12 months — any shared equipment is historical, not active.
Show all-time history (4 trucks · 5 carriers)
Across all inspections on record: USDOT 2158794USDOT 4091631USDOT 211745USDOT 572072USDOT 4323556
Shares a registration email domain with other carriers
@palmertrucks.com — 3 carriers: USDOT 3096457USDOT 3797862
Capacity consistency· registered vs roadside-observed power units
Registered (MCS-150)8989
Observed (24 mo)66
Shared w/ other carriers44
Registered capacity materially exceeds what is observed roadside — the MCS-150 may be stale or the fleet under-utilized.
06
Identity & contact
FMCSA census + L&I dossier
Location
- Physical address
- 9704 E 30TH STREET, INDIANAPOLIS, IN, 46229
- Operation
- Interstate· Hazmat
Contact
- Phone
- (317) 620-8421
- Fax
- (317) 243-9036
- Web domain
- palmertrucks.com
Registration
- Officers
- Jacob D Nichols · J Scott Nichols
- USDOT / docket
- 457780
- First registered
- 09/12/1991
- Last MCS-150
- 04/16/2026 · 5,000 mi (2025)
- FMCSA safety rating
- Not rated
- D-U-N-S
- —
Fleet (self-reported · MCS-150)
07
Federal activity
Daily-captured FMCSA licensing & insurance changes — monitored by Vektor
Federal record activity· monitored daily by Vektor
No licensing or insurance changes captured since Vektor began monitoring this carrier (June 2026). Quiet is usually good.
08
Reviews
Verified broker, shipper & driver reviews — moderated
Performance ratings only — never the Vektor risk score
No verified reviews yet
Be the first broker or shipper to rate PALMER TRUCKS INC. Reviews cover performance only — on-time delivery, payment speed, communication — and never affect the Vektor risk score.
Leave a review09
Frequently asked
What is PALMER TRUCKS INC's USDOT number?
PALMER TRUCKS INC's USDOT number is 457780.
Is PALMER TRUCKS INC authorized to operate?
As of 2026-06-13, PALMER TRUCKS INC is active in the FMCSA register.
What is PALMER TRUCKS INC's safety record?
PALMER TRUCKS INC has a 0.0% vehicle out-of-service rate (national average 22.26%) across 11 roadside inspections, with 0 reportable crashes in the last 24 months, and is not currently rated by FMCSA. Vektor's computed risk score is 100/100 (tier: clear).
How big is PALMER TRUCKS INC's fleet?
PALMER TRUCKS INC operates 89 power units and 89 drivers per its most recent MCS-150 filing.
Where is PALMER TRUCKS INC based?
PALMER TRUCKS INC is based in INDIANAPOLIS, IN, with roadside inspections recorded across 2 states.