Carrier profile · USDOT 1540424 · MC-729124 · Updated Jun 21, 2026

MERCHANT EXCAVATING INC

12 power unitsavg 3.9 yrRegional · 4 statesALMA, MI100/100

CARRIER ACTIVEMC-729124 ACTIVE

Observed fleet · trailing 24 mo daily

12Power units

4 observed · MCS-150

6Trailers seen

Decoded · vPIC

3.9Avg age (yr)

2018–2025 · vPIC

Call dispatch(989) 875-3691 Email dispatchap@merchantexcavating.com

Click to see how we scored it

Load decision · FMCSA snapshot · Jun 21, 2026

Clear to load

Active authority and a clean federal record. No blocking issues found.

Active operating authorityInsurance on file

Watch · 0

Nothing flagged.

In good standing · 4

Active operating authorityActive for-hire authority is on file with FMCSA.Insurance on fileBIPD (liability) insurance is on file with FMCSA.Established 20 yearsOperating authority has been on file since 2006.Out-of-service rates below national averageBoth vehicle and driver OOS rates beat the national benchmark across 13 inspections.

USDOT registration

yr registered

Active for-hire

Insurance (BIPD)$750K in force

FMCSA L&I

Vehicle OOS · 24-mo20.0%

▼ 22.26% nat'l

Crashes · fatal

Clean · 24 mo

USDOT registration

yr registered

Active for-hire

Insurance (BIPD)$750K in force

FMCSA L&I

Vehicle OOS · 24-mo20.0%

▼ 22.26% nat'l

Crashes · fatal

Clean · 24 mo

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

Fleet typeIdentity

Small fleet

12 power units. Brokers price each fleet type apart.

Fleet age vs peersNewer

3.9 yr

Model years 2018–2025 · peer benchmark unavailable.

Identity stabilityStable

19 yr unchanged

Same registration since 2006 — no chameleon / reincarnation signal.

Safety

9 inspections · 24 mo · vs national benchmarks

Out-of-service rate· 24-mo cumulative · vs national

Vehicle OOS 20.0%24-mo cumulative

050%nat'l 22.26%

Driver OOS 0.0%24-mo cumulative

030%nat'l 6.67%

Every inspection in the window pooled — 5 vehicle and 9 driver inspections over 24 months.

Vehicle OOS rate· vehicle OOS · vehicle-level inspections · 6-month trailing

20.0% · latest 6-mo window▲ Rising

Share of vehicle-level roadside inspections in each trailing six-month window that resulted in a vehicle out-of-service order. Trending up 18.3 pts across the window. The national vehicle benchmark uses the same metric and is shown on the chart.

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

9 inspections in the charted months · busiest month Sep '24 · 4

Vehicle-levelDriver-levelAny OOS

Monthly FMCSA roadside inspections across the 24 charted calendar months. Bars show level-qualified vehicle and driver populations; one inspection can qualify for both. The line shows inspections with any out-of-service result.

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.

Expected band

Under-inspected

Expected

Well-monitored

Heavily inspected

≈0.4 / unit·yr

thin signalabundant signal

Roadside-inspection volume is about what you'd expect for a 12-unit fleet — enough signal to read the safety record, though not a heavy sample.

Registered power units: 12
Inspections · 24 mo: 9
Annualized: ≈5 / yr
Coverage: ≈0.4 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 Driving9 · 0 OOS
392.16 Failure to use seat beltUnsafe Driving1 · 0 OOS
393.47 Brake actuators / linings / componentsVehicle Maintenance1 · 0 OOS
393.53 Automatic brake adjusters / indicatorsVehicle Maintenance1 · 0 OOS
393.75 Tires (defective / underinflated / worn)Vehicle Maintenance1 · 1 OOS

Explore full safety record — inspections, BASICs, crashes

Authority & insurance

Can they legally + adequately haul your load?

Operating authority· 49 CFR · per type

Operating authority

Common: Active
Contract: None
Broker: None

Insurance & bonds

BIPD / liability$750,000 in force

Cargo filing (census)Recorded per census

Surety bond (census)Not recorded per census

Insurance adequacy· filed BIPD vs the $750K federal floor

$750K in forcegeneral-freight federal minimum

$750K floor

Filed BIPD coverage of $750K meets or exceeds the $750K federal minimum for general freight (49 CFR 387.9). Some commodities (hazmat, larger vehicles) require $1M–$5M — confirm against your load.

Insurance continuity· insurer · policy · lapses

$750K BIPD last filed ’20 · 3 insurers · 0 lapsesContinuous

Bitco General’12–’14

Michigan Millers’14–’20

beyond this history

2010201420182022now

Shorter eras are too brief to label at this scale — all 3 insurers are named in the list below.

BIPD in force — $750,000 · WEST BEND MUTUAL INSURANCE CO. · since Nov 2020

All 3 insurer eras · dates, limits, renewals

Insurer	Period	Limit	Renewals
MICHIGAN MILLERS MUTUAL INSURANCE CO	Mar 2014 → Nov 2020	$750K	1
BITCO GENERAL INSURANCE CORPORATION	Mar 2012 → Mar 2014	$750K	2
AUTO OWNERS INSURANCE COMPANY	Oct 2010 → Mar 2012	$750K	2

Explore full authority & insurance record

Equipment & fleet

VIN-decoded · NHTSA vPIC

Capacity· power units = haulable capacity; trailers are towed

Registered power units (MCS-150): 12
Observed power (24 mo): 4
Trailers (towed): 6

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

Fleet age· model years · decoded VINs

3.9 yr

Average age

2025

Newest model yr

2018

Oldest model yr

30.0%

VINs decoded

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

Operations & lanes

Revealed by inspection density across 4 states · 24 mo

Operating footprint· revealed by roadside-inspection geography

Operating radiusRegional

revealed

States observed

US states

Inspections · 24 mo

MI busiest

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

Home base

ALMA, MI

4040 N STATE ROAD

Top corridor

MI 4 · IN 3 · OH 1

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 (3 trucks · 4 carriers)

Across all inspections on record: USDOT 2630230 USDOT 3521801 USDOT 21800 USDOT 2148558

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: 4040 N STATE ROAD, ALMA, MI, 48801
Operation: Interstate

Contact

Phone: (989) 875-3691
Fax: (989) 875-7772
Email: ap@merchantexcavating.com
Web domain: merchantexcavating.com

Registration

Officer: Edward Taylor
USDOT / docket: 1540424 · MC-729124
First registered: Aug 9, 2006
Last MCS-150: Apr 15, 2026 · 620,398 mi (2025)
FMCSA safety rating: Not rated
Recordable crash rate: 0.00
D-U-N-S: —

Fleet (self-reported · MCS-150)

Power units

Drivers

CDL drivers

620,398

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 MERCHANT EXCAVATING INC. Reviews cover performance only — on-time delivery, payment speed, communication — and never affect the Vektor risk score.

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Verification summaryAuthority, insurance, safety and identity facts for MERCHANT EXCAVATING INC.

MERCHANT EXCAVATING INC (USDOT 1540424) has a Vektor safety score of 100/100 and a Clear to load verdict, from the carrier's FMCSA record refreshed Jun 21, 2026.

The carrier holds active common for-hire operating authority per FMCSA L&I as of Jun 21, 2026.

It has an active BIPD insurance filing with a $750,000 limit in force from WEST BEND MUTUAL INSURANCE CO. effective Nov 18, 2020 in FMCSA L&I's current snapshot as of Jun 21, 2026.

Its vehicle out-of-service rate was 20.0% over the last 24 months, versus the 22.26% CVSA national average, from FMCSA roadside-inspection data refreshed Jun 21, 2026.

The carrier received 9 roadside inspections in the last 24 months — 5 vehicle-level and 9 driver-level — across 4 states, according to FMCSA roadside-inspection data refreshed Jun 21, 2026.

The carrier has 0 reportable crashes in the last 24 months and 0 fatal crashes across the full FMCSA crash record available as of Jun 21, 2026.

It reports 12 power units and 15 drivers in its most recent MCS-150 filing dated Apr 15, 2026.

It has no FMCSA-assigned safety rating in the federal record refreshed Jun 21, 2026.

Frequently asked

What is MERCHANT EXCAVATING INC's USDOT number?

MERCHANT EXCAVATING INC's USDOT number is 1540424, and its motor carrier number is MC-729124.

Is MERCHANT EXCAVATING INC authorized to operate?

As of Jun 21, 2026, MERCHANT EXCAVATING INC is active in the FMCSA register with common, contract, broker operating authority on file.

What is MERCHANT EXCAVATING INC's safety record?

MERCHANT EXCAVATING INC has a 20.0% vehicle out-of-service rate (national average 22.26%) across 13 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).