The Merchants Company
DBA MERCHANTS FOODSERVICE
Safety
Roadside out-of-service rates versus the national benchmark, inspection and crash trends, decoded violation themes, and ELD / hours-of-service integrity — the full safety picture behind the verdict.
Out-of-service rate· 24-mo cumulative · vs national
Vehicle OOS rate· vehicle OOS · vehicle-level inspections · 6-month trailing
Roadside inspection history· 24 charted calendar months · vehicle / driver level · any-OOS overlay
139 inspections in the charted months · busiest month Feb '25 · 12
Inspection coverage· expected vs observed · the fraud signal
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.
- Registered power units
- 258
- Inspections · 24 mo
- 143
- Annualized
- ≈72 / yr
- Coverage
- ≈0.3 inspections / unit · yr
BASIC categories· CSA SMS · Aug 2026
Violation themes· decoded · grouped by BASIC
What this carrier actually gets cited for — FMCSA violation codes decoded into plain English, ranked by frequency.
- 393.9 Inoperative required lampsVehicle Maintenance36 · 13 OOS
- 392.2 State/local traffic law violation (speeding, etc.)Unsafe Driving34 · 0 OOS
- 393.45 Brake tubing / hose defectsVehicle Maintenance19 · 3 OOS
- 393.95 Emergency equipment (extinguisher, triangles)Vehicle Maintenance15 · 0 OOS
- 396.17 Periodic (annual) inspectionVehicle Maintenance7 · 0 OOS
- 393.11 Required lamps/reflectors missingVehicle Maintenance5 · 0 OOS
- 393.55 Antilock brake system (ABS)Vehicle Maintenance5 · 0 OOS
- 393.47 Brake actuators / linings / componentsVehicle Maintenance5 · 0 OOS
- 393.78 Windshield wipersVehicle Maintenance5 · 0 OOS
- 393.75 Tires (defective / underinflated / worn)Vehicle Maintenance4 · 2 OOS
ELD & hours-of-service
7 hours-of-service / ELD violations on record · most recent Oct 25, 2024. FMCSA does not publish the ELD device brand; these are the carrier's logging-compliance signals.
2 ELD violations in the last 24 months. Falsified-log violations are a serious integrity flag.
Crash history· 178 total · 14 in 24 mo
| Year | Crashes | Fatal | Injury | Tow | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | |
| 2025 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 6 | |
| 2024 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| 2023 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 9 | |
| 2022 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | |
| 2021 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| 2020 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 4 | |
| 2019 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 7 | |
| 2018 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 8 | |
| 2017 | 10 | 1 | 6 | 10 | |
| 2016 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 10 | |
| 2015 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 6 | |
| 2014 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 8 | |
| 2013 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 9 | |
| 2012 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 8 | |
| 2011 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 6 | |
| 2010 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 5 | |
| 2009 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 7 | |
| 2008 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 6 | |
| 2007 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | |
| 2006 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 2005 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 4 | |
| 2004 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 4 | |
| 2003 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| 2002 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 2001 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 5 | |
| 2000 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| 1999 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | |
| 1998 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 5 | |
| 1997 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 1993 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 1992 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Date | State | Fatalities | Injuries | Tow-away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 3, 2026 | SC | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Mar 27, 2026 | AL | 0 | 1 | No |
| Mar 20, 2026 | MS | 0 | 1 | No |
| Mar 3, 2026 | LA | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Feb 11, 2026 | MS | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Dec 18, 2025 | AL | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Aug 20, 2025 | MS | 0 | 2 | Yes |
| Aug 13, 2025 | AL | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Jun 23, 2025 | MS | 0 | 1 | Yes |
| Apr 25, 2025 | MS | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Jan 20, 2025 | GA | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Nov 18, 2024 | FL | 0 | 1 | Yes |
| Sep 13, 2024 | AL | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Aug 22, 2024 | SC | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Feb 21, 2024 | TN | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Jan 31, 2024 | AL | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Jan 8, 2024 | AL | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Dec 10, 2023 | MS | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Sep 27, 2023 | AL | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Aug 21, 2023 | MS | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Aug 13, 2023 | SC | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| May 9, 2023 | MS | 0 | 2 | Yes |
| Apr 17, 2023 | AL | 0 | 1 | No |
| Mar 16, 2023 | MS | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Mar 16, 2023 | AL | 0 | 0 | Yes |