tanker trucking companies.

when $1,000,000 applies

Oil listed in 49 CFR 172.101 requires $1,000,000. Hazardous substances in bulk (cargo tanks, hopper vehicles, and the other 387.9 bulk descriptions) require $5,000,000. Non-HM bulk property can still be $750,000. Match the commodity, not the trailer photo.

FMCSA cargo-carried codes used as hints

• code 11 — Liquids/gases
• code 22 — Commodities dry bulk

Commodity-driven minimum

Do not quote a single tanker insurance number. Read 49 CFR 387.9 against the product.

49 CFR 387.9

bulk equipment is not one insurance number

Census codes 11 (liquids/gases) and 22 (commodities dry bulk) are hints. They do not tell you whether the tank is MC-406 gasoline service, a 407 chemical tank, food-grade stainless, or a dry-bulk hopper.

Liability minimums jump with the commodity. Oil listed in 49 CFR 172.101 is $1,000,000. Hazardous substances in bulk as described in 387.9 are $5,000,000. Non-HM bulk property can still be $750,000. Match the product, not the trailer photo.

National tanker counts from those two cargo codes would mix milk, cement, and gasoline. Match the product, then the tank spec.

tank spec, wash, and prior cargo

Ask the spec (406, 407, 412, food-grade, pneumatic) and the last inspection the shipper cares about. QCMobile will not show tank spec. The carrier’s office should.

Food-grade and chemical service both care about prior cargo and wash tickets. A tank that last hauled a bittering agent is not covering a food-grade load on a promise to “rinse it.” Get the wash record or pass.

If the product is HM, run PHMSA registration and HMSP when required, plus the 387.9 row. If it is food-grade non-HM, you still have cargo and contamination exposure the federal BI&PD floor does not address.

loading rights and transloading

Some terminals require carrier approval lists, TWIC, or specific hose and fitting standards. Active MC authority does not put a truck on a refinery list. Ask who is approved at this origin.

Transload to drums or totes is a different operation than a cargo-tank highway move. Confirm what actually rolls. If a van is picking up totes, you are not on this hub’s equipment path even if the commodity started in a tank.

Overfill, vapor recovery, and retain are operational. Write who is responsible if the origin cannot load the ordered quantity.

hours, wash bays, and split loads

Tank work is appointment-driven. A carrier who is “an hour out” with an unwashed tank is not covering a food-grade window. Get current location, wash status, and remaining HOS before you send a rate confirmation.

Split loads and multi-drop chemicals add compatibility problems. If stop two cannot follow stop one’s product, you need a wash between them or a second tank. Census cargo codes will not tell you that. The dispatcher who names the product sequence will.

Owner-operators in bulk are common. Fleet size on the snapshot does not equal a spare trailer. If they have one tank and it is already loaded, this pickup is not covered. Ask which unit, not how many they “run.”

equipment and desk questions

• UN/NA or product name, bulk or not, and which 387.9 row applies?
• Tank spec and last inspection date the shipper requires?
• Prior cargo and wash ticket, especially food-grade or chemical?
• BI&PD amount on L&I today — $750k, $1M, or $5M?
• Is the carrier approved at this terminal, TWIC if needed?
• Who owns retain, and what happens if the origin short-loads?

fuel, $750,000 BMC-91, “we haul gas all the time”

Oil in 172.101 is a $1,000,000 row. Habit is not the table. Wait until L&I shows the correct filing, or use a carrier already at $1M / $5M as required.

food-grade, last cargo a non-food chemical

Do not cover on a verbal wash. Get the ticket or find another tank. Contamination is a cargo and product-liability problem the census will not flag.

desk checklist

• Identify the UN/NA number and whether the move is bulk before you talk about insurance floors.
• Confirm tank spec, last inspection, and wash/prior cargo when the shipper requires it.
• If HM, run the hazmat checks (registration / HMSP) as well.

common mistakes

• Using $750,000 on a bulk HM tanker because “they haul fuel all the time.”
• Skipping prior-cargo wash records on food-grade tanks.