How Enterprise Auto Transport Screens Carriers and Identifies Potential Risks Before Your Vehicle Is Shipped

Finding a truck is easy. Finding a qualified carrier is not.

Today, Enterprise Auto Transport is reviewing information from our third-party carrier screening software, including several trucking companies flagged for additional evaluation.

We use specialized risk-assessment technology that, according to the software provider, is used by approximately 10 companies in the auto transport brokerage industry.

After approximately 15 years in this business, I have learned that finding a truck willing to transport a vehicle is relatively easy. Finding a properly qualified carrier that meets our company's safety and verification standards is an entirely different responsibility.

Our goal is not to identify the cheapest available truck. It is to identify a qualified carrier at a competitive price while minimizing avoidable risks to our customers.

What our carrier screening software tells us

Based on our internal screening observations, approximately 80% of the carriers we evaluate outside our preferred carrier network receive a risk rating of C- or lower, with many receiving ratings in the D range. These percentages represent our company's observations and should not be interpreted as industry-wide statistics.

A lower rating does not automatically mean a carrier is unsafe, dishonest, operating illegally, or involved in fraudulent activity. Carrier screening scores are third-party risk assessments. They may incorporate operating history, available safety information, administrative records, identity verification indicators, and other criteria established by the software provider.

Most importantly, these ratings can change. A carrier's rating today may differ from its rating tomorrow, next week, or next month as records are updated, corrected, or reevaluated. We therefore use these ratings as a screening tool rather than as definitive evidence of misconduct.

A carrier flagged for additional review is not necessarily a carrier that has failed screening, and we do not publish the names of carriers flagged in our reviews.

How we screen carriers before tendering a shipment

Our screening process begins before we assign a vehicle to a carrier.

An acceptable rating does not automatically qualify a carrier for dispatch. A lower-rated carrier may operate lawfully and may be acceptable to another brokerage operating under different selection standards.

If a carrier has no established history with our company, we generally prefer to work with a better-rated carrier whenever one is reasonably available.

Our software provider reports that its recommended screening practices can substantially reduce exposure to identified high-risk carrier activity, including certain double-brokering and cargo-theft risks. However, no screening system can eliminate every risk or guarantee that an incident will never occur. Technology helps us make more informed decisions. It does not replace human judgment.

• A, B, or C rating: the carrier may proceed to additional evaluation of route, equipment, operating history, insurance information and overall profile.
• D or F rating: under our current internal policies, an automatic denial for that shipment. This is an internal risk-management decision, not an allegation of wrongdoing.
• We also evaluate carrier authority, insurance documentation, safety and roadside inspection information, company identity, and our own prior experience.
• When appropriate, we independently verify the driver's identity, commercial driver's license, truck identification, and USDOT information.

Why our pricing structure is different

Our standard brokerage fee is $299 per vehicle. The carrier's transportation charge is negotiated separately, and our brokerage fee is disclosed to the customer.

We do not increase our brokerage fee simply because we negotiate a lower payment to the carrier. In some brokerage pricing models, the amount retained by the brokerage depends on the difference between the customer's total payment and the amount paid to the carrier. Those arrangements are not inherently improper, but they can create different financial incentives.

We do not believe that choosing the lowest-priced carrier should take priority over carrier qualifications.

Consumers should also understand the difference between a federally licensed property brokerage and a sales representative operating under another company's brokerage authority. We encourage customers to verify the brokerage company through the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration before signing a transportation agreement.

"I found someone cheaper."

We hear this frequently. We understand. Nobody wants to overpay to ship a vehicle. But two transportation quotes are not necessarily offering the same level of service.

The lower quote is not automatically a bad quote, just as the higher quote is not automatically a safer one. The important question is what the brokerage actually does before assigning your vehicle to a truck.

Our brokerage fee supports the work involved in evaluating, coordinating, verifying, and managing transportation arrangements. If a customer chooses another company because of price, we respect that decision. But we will not compromise our carrier selection standards simply to win a shipment.

Why carrier screening can also be a legal issue

A few weeks ago, I shared a video of a discussion I participated in with a litigation expert about the potential legal consequences when a commercial motor carrier is involved in a serious accident.

Depending on the circumstances and applicable law, lawsuits arising from trucking accidents may involve multiple parties, including the carrier and potentially the brokerage that arranged the transportation. Vehicle owners may also face claims in some circumstances, although ownership of a transported vehicle alone does not automatically establish liability.

We cannot guarantee that every carrier we hire will operate without incident. No brokerage can. What we can do is establish screening standards, follow them consistently, and document the verification steps we perform.

Why we give customers a 1 to 4 business-day pickup window

Enterprise Auto Transport provides a standard pickup window of 1 to 4 business days beginning with the customer's first available pickup date. Pickup may occur on any of those days, and we do not guarantee pickup on the first available date.

Based on our company's operating experience, approximately 95% of our shipments are picked up within this window. That window allows us to coordinate transportation, negotiate the carrier's rate, and complete our screening process. When a carrier accepts a shipment, the carrier still needs to meet our verification requirements before we approve the assignment.

Auto transport is not like ordering a pizza. There is no universal dispatch system showing where every truck will be tomorrow. Carriers operate independently, and their routes and availability change. Be cautious about anyone guaranteeing a specific pickup date before a qualified carrier has actually accepted and been approved for the shipment.

Why we specialize in Southwest Florida and the Midwest

We provide nationwide vehicle transportation, but our primary specialty is Southwest Florida and transportation between Florida, Minnesota, and the Midwest, including Naples, Fort Myers, Bonita Springs, Estero and Marco Island.

Concentrating on these markets has built relationships with carriers whose operations we have experience evaluating. When our preferred carriers are not available, we use national load boards, and that is where our screening technology and internal verification procedures become especially valuable.

We do not assume a carrier is qualified simply because it has a good online review score, an active authority, or an attractive price.

What makes Enterprise Auto Transport different?

We cannot promise the cheapest price, pickup on the first available day, or transportation completely free of risk. What we can promise is that we take carrier selection seriously.

The question should not simply be, "How much will it cost to ship my car?" It should also be: "What are you doing to verify the company that will actually transport it?" That is a question every consumer should feel comfortable asking, and one we are prepared to answer.

Enterprise Auto Transport's carrier screening policies reflect its own business risk-management standards. Third-party ratings and screening information may change and do not constitute findings of wrongdoing or guarantees of future carrier performance.