Reefer carrier vetting essentials

authority first, then the machine

Run the same authority and insurance checks you run on dry freight. Active interstate property authority. BOC-3 on file. Required BI&PD filing on L&I. Matching legal name on the rate con. Then ask questions FMCSA will not answer.

A reefer unit is equipment. Census cargo codes are not a trailer registry. A board tag that says "reefer" is a claim. The box on the truck that will show up is the fact you need.

If authority or insurance fails, stop. Do not "hold a trailer" while L&I is pending. Spoilage risk does not override a missing grant.

Temperature-controlled freight does not get a lighter identity check because the shipper is in a hurry. Melted product plus the wrong MC is two losses. Do the name match first.

census produce, meat, and refrigerated codes are hints

MCS-150 cargo-carried lists include fresh produce, meat, and refrigerated food. Those codes are hints that the company has claimed temperature-controlled work. They are not proof a working reefer will arrive at your shipper.

Carriers mark cargo they haul or intend to haul. A dry-van fleet can check produce. A produce fleet can show up with a unit that will not hold set point. Confirm the trailer that will take this load.

Cargo-carried on the census record is a hint. Absence of a refrigerated code is a question. Presence is still a question. Ask what is pulling and what box is on it.

bi&pd is not spoilage coverage

The $750,000 figure in 49 CFR 387.9 for ordinary property is bodily injury and property damage — public liability. It pays third-party injury and damage. It does not pay for a melted load in a trailer that lost refrigeration.

Cargo insurance is contractual for most property carriers. FMCSA does not set a federal cargo minimum for ordinary freight. Brokers require cargo because a spoiled shipment is otherwise an unsecured loss.

Read the certificate for named insured, limit, deductible, and excluded commodities. Frozen, produce, and pharmaceuticals are where claims die. The named insured must be the motor carrier on the dispatch.

reefer breakdown is an endorsement, not a vibe

Refrigeration-breakdown coverage is a cargo-policy endorsement. Many cargo forms exclude mechanical failure of the unit unless that endorsement is present. Ask for it by name. "We have cargo" is not the endorsement.

Limits must meet or exceed product value after the deductible. A $100,000 cargo line with a breakdown sublimit below the load value is a gap. Write the numbers next to the product value on the file.

A BMC-34 on L&I, if present, is a federal cargo filing. Many legitimate carriers have no BMC-34 and still carry a commercial cargo policy. Ask for the policy pages, not only the FMCSA box.

Spoilage from a shipper delay, from a wrong set point the shipper ordered, and from a dead unit are different stories. Breakdown endorsements address unit failure. They do not automatically pay every temperature claim. Read the form.

set point, pulldown, and recorder

Set point, pulldown, and a working recorder are operational controls. FMCSA census will not show them. Put set point in writing on the rate con. Confirm pre-cool before the driver is at the dock.

Ask whether the recorder downloads. A unit with no usable history is a problem after a temperature claim. If the shipper requires a continuous recorder, say so before you book, not after the trailer is loaded.

Continuous vs cycle, and whether the product is frozen or chill, change how you talk to the driver. You do not need to run the unit. You need the carrier to state what they will run and to put it on the paper.

the driver and the box have to match the load

A carrier that hauls dry freight can still own a reefer. A carrier that once hauled produce can send a dry van. Ask trailer type, unit hours if they track them, and whether this driver has run this commodity recently.

Multi-pick produce and a single frozen stop are different jobs. If they cannot describe pulp checks or a set-point change mid-route, do not send a sensitive load with them on the first cover.

Identity still applies. The person confirming the box must be the motor carrier. A dispatcher describing "our reefer" on an MC that shows one power unit and no refrigerated cargo claim is a reason to slow down.

re-check insurance the morning of pickup

Produce and protein lanes move on short notice. Filings cancel on their own calendar. A cargo certificate emailed last month does not override a BMC-91 cancellation on L&I today.

Re-open L&I the morning of dispatch. Pending cancellation with a date before pickup is a stop. Reinstatement after a gap is a question: what happened in the gap.

Save a dated L&I screen with the load. Temperature claims get reconstructed months later. The file should show you checked authority and liability the day the box loaded, not the day you added them to a carrier list.

after the door closes: pulp, download, and who holds the data

Pulp temperatures at loading are a shipper and driver fact. Brokers who never ask for a pulp or a photo of the set-point screen find out at claim time that nobody agrees what the box was running.

Ask who can download the recorder and how fast. A unit that only prints at the shop next week is a problem if the receiver is rejecting today. Put the download contact on the rate con when the shipper cares.

Multi-stop produce with a set-point change mid-route needs that change in writing. A driver who "always runs 34" is not a written instruction. Continuous versus cycle run is also a written instruction when the product requires it.

If the load is rejected, keep the check file anyway. Authority and breakdown coverage questions arrive after the product is in the dumpster. The dated L&I screen and the named-insured cargo page are what you will be asked for.

desk checklist

• Active property authority and required BI&PD on L&I the day of cover.
• Legal name, MC, and DOT match the rate con.
• Census cargo codes treated as hints only; trailer type confirmed for this load.
• Cargo limit covers product value; named insured is the motor carrier.
• Reefer-breakdown endorsement present when the product can spoil from unit failure.
• Set point, pre-cool, and recorder agreed in writing.
• L&I re-checked the morning of pickup.

what belongs in the load file

• Dated L&I screen for authority and BI&PD.
• Cargo certificate or policy pages showing named insured, limit, and breakdown endorsement.
• Rate con with set point and recorder requirement.
• Note of trailer type and who at the carrier confirmed the box.

fail closed

• Authority or BI&PD not active on L&I.
• Cargo named insured is a different LLC than the MC.
• No breakdown coverage and the product is temperature-sensitive.
• Carrier cannot confirm a reefer trailer for this pickup.