Carrier profile · USDOT 480804 · Updated Jun 13, 2026

J A SMITH MACHINERY CO LTD

6 power unitsavg 11.8 yrLocal · 1 statesAMES, IA50/100

AUTHORITY STATUS UNKNOWN

Observed fleet · trailing 24 mo daily

6Power units

2 observed · MCS-150

2Trailers seen

Decoded · vPIC

11.8Avg age (yr)

2009–2023 · vPIC

Call dispatch(515) 233-6330 Email dispatchmichael@smithmachinery.com

Click to see how we scored it

Load decision · FMCSA snapshot · Jun 13, 2026

Limited record

Not enough federal record to assess. Verify authority and insurance directly.

Established 34 yearsMultiple injury crashes

Watch · 2

Multiple injury crashes6 crashes involving injuries are on record.Not enough inspection history to rate2 federal roadside inspections in the last 24 months. FMCSA itself will not score a carrier's vehicle or driver record on fewer than 5, and neither will we — verify authority, insurance and references directly before tendering.

In good standing · 1

Established 34 yearsOperating authority has been on file since 1992.

USDOT registration

yr registered

Authority not on file

Insurance (BIPD)— unknown

No filing on record

Vehicle OOS · 24-mo—

No inspections · 24 mo

Crashes · fatal

1 in 24 mo

USDOT registration

yr registered

Authority not on file

Insurance (BIPD)— unknown

No filing on record

Vehicle OOS · 24-mo—

No inspections · 24 mo

Crashes · fatal

1 in 24 mo

Vektor intelligence · beyond the federal recordProprietary signals computed from VIN-decoded inspections & daily FMCSA snapshots

Fleet typeIdentity

Small fleet

6 power units. Brokers price each fleet type apart.

Fleet age vs peersTypical

11.8 yr

Model years 2009–2023 · peer benchmark unavailable.

Identity stabilityStable

34 yr unchanged

Same registration since 1992 — no chameleon / reincarnation signal.

Safety

2 inspections · 24 mo

Out-of-service rate· 24-mo cumulative

Vehicle OOS —24-mo cumulative

050%

Driver OOS 0.0%24-mo cumulative

030%

Every inspection in the window pooled — 0 vehicle and 2 driver inspections over 24 months.

Roadside inspection history· 24 charted calendar months · vehicle / driver level · any-OOS overlay

No roadside inspections on the FMCSA record in this window

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.

Thin coverage

Under-inspected

Expected

Well-monitored

Heavily inspected

≈0.2 / unit·yr

thin signalabundant signal

Few roadside inspections for a 6-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: 6
Inspections · 24 mo: 2
Annualized: ≈1 / yr
Coverage: ≈0.2 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 Driving3 · 0 OOS
392.82 Using a hand-held mobile phoneUnsafe Driving1 · 0 OOS
393.9 Inoperative required lampsVehicle Maintenance1 · 0 OOS

Explore full safety record — inspections, BASICs, crashes

Authority & insurance

Can they legally + adequately haul your load?

Insurance continuity· insurer · policy · lapses

No insurance filing history on record.

This timeline is the FMCSA filing history, and it ends at the most recent superseded filing — current policy status is not tracked here. Request a certificate of insurance to confirm active coverage before tendering.

Explore full authority & insurance record

Equipment & fleet

VIN-decoded · NHTSA vPIC

Capacity· power units = haulable capacity; trailers are towed

Registered power units (MCS-150): 6
Observed power (24 mo): 2
Trailers (towed): 2

Capacity is power units only — trailers are towed equipment and are never summed into a fleet-size figure.

Fleet age· model years · decoded VINs

11.8 yr

Average age

2023

Newest model yr

2009

Oldest model yr

25.0%

VINs decoded

Explore full fleet — VIN roster, equipment mix, age distribution

Operations & lanes

Revealed by inspection density across 1 states · 24 mo

Operating footprint· revealed by roadside-inspection geography

Operating radiusLocal

revealed

States observed

US states

Inspections · 24 mo

IA busiest

Inspection density by state· each tile = a state · shade = inspections, last 24 mo

Home base

AMES, IA

1287 W AVE

Top corridor

IA 2

Density

fewermore

Shade = roadside inspections, last 24 mo.

See the full operating map — state density, top lanes

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 (1 truck · 1 carriers)

Across all inspections on record: USDOT 623372

Shares a company officer with other carriers

james smith — 244 carriers: USDOT 277392 USDOT 329305 USDOT 337947 USDOT 398018 USDOT 480088 USDOT 481747 USDOT 570844 USDOT 668636

Capacity consistency· registered vs roadside-observed power units

Registered (MCS-150)

Observed (24 mo)

Shared w/ other carriers

Registered capacity materially exceeds what is observed roadside — the MCS-150 may be stale or the fleet under-utilized.

Explore the carrier network & VIN cross-links

Identity & contact

FMCSA census + L&I dossier

Location

Physical address: 1287 W AVE, AMES, IA, 50014
Operation: Interstate

Contact

Phone: (515) 233-6330
Email: michael@smithmachinery.com
Web domain: smithmachinery.com

Registration

Officer: James Smith
USDOT / docket: 480804
First registered: Apr 22, 1992
Last MCS-150: Mar 17, 2026 · 86,869 mi (2025)
FMCSA safety rating: Not rated
D-U-N-S: —

Fleet (self-reported · MCS-150)

Power units

Drivers

CDL drivers

86,869

Annual mileage

Open the full identity & federal record

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.

Open the full federal-record activity feed

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 J A SMITH MACHINERY CO LTD. Reviews cover performance only — on-time delivery, payment speed, communication — and never affect the Vektor risk score.

Leave a review

Open reviews

Verification summaryAuthority, insurance, safety and identity facts for J A SMITH MACHINERY CO LTD.

J A SMITH MACHINERY CO LTD (USDOT 480804) is unrated by Vektor because the carrier's FMCSA record does not contain enough evidence for a safety score as of Jun 13, 2026.

The carrier has an unknown current for-hire authority status because no FMCSA L&I authority row is available as of Jun 13, 2026.

It has an unknown current BIPD insurance status because no FMCSA L&I active-filing snapshot is available as of Jun 13, 2026.

The carrier received 2 roadside inspections in the last 24 months — 0 vehicle-level and 2 driver-level — across 1 state, according to FMCSA roadside-inspection data refreshed Jun 13, 2026.

The carrier has 1 reportable crash in the last 24 months and 0 fatal crashes across the full FMCSA crash record available as of Jun 13, 2026.

It reports 6 power units and 8 drivers in its most recent MCS-150 filing dated Mar 17, 2026.

It has no FMCSA-assigned safety rating in the federal record refreshed Jun 13, 2026.

Frequently asked

What is J A SMITH MACHINERY CO LTD's USDOT number?

J A SMITH MACHINERY CO LTD's USDOT number is 480804.

Is J A SMITH MACHINERY CO LTD authorized to operate?

As of Jun 13, 2026, J A SMITH MACHINERY CO LTD is active in the FMCSA register.

What is J A SMITH MACHINERY CO LTD's safety record?

J A SMITH MACHINERY CO LTD has a — vehicle out-of-service rate across 3 roadside inspections, with 1 reportable crash in the last 24 months, and is not currently rated by FMCSA. Vektor does not assign this carrier a safety score: 2 federal roadside inspections in the last 24 months. FMCSA itself will not score a carrier's vehicle or driver record on fewer than 5, and neither will we — verify authority, insurance and references directly before tendering.