Haulwide adds federal licensing records to car shipping comparison profiles

Haulwide has launched car shipping profiles that surface FMCSA operating authority, USDOT and MC numbers, registration details and advertised payment terms alongside sourced price data. The Miami-based site says the aim is to make broker and carrier credentials easier for consumers to compare before they book.

Why it matters: - Car shipping customers can now compare licensing and payment terms alongside prices in one place. - The profiles are designed to make it easier to see whether a company is a broker or a motor carrier before a customer pays a deposit. - Federal records are public, but they are often checked one company at a time, which can make side-by-side comparison harder. - More information is available through Haulwide’s social and company pages.

What happened: - Haulwide, a Miami-based car shipping comparison site, launched company profiles that list federal operating authority for the car shipping companies it covers. - Each profile includes the FMCSA authority on file, USDOT and MC numbers, the year the company registered, its registered address and the payment terms it advertises. - The site also publishes what it costs to ship a car in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. - Each price figure is tied to the published study it comes from.

The details: - The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration licenses brokers and motor carriers separately. - A broker arranges transport and assigns the job to a trucking company. - A motor carrier moves the vehicle. - Many companies that advertise car shipping to consumers hold broker authority only. - Federal rules require a broker to maintain $75,000 in financial security, usually a surety bond or trust fund. - That financial security covers payments owed to carriers. - Cargo coverage for vehicles on a truck is set by the carrier that moves them. - Advertised payment terms vary across companies. - Some companies charge nothing until a carrier accepts the job. - Others take a deposit at booking. - The FMCSA register can be searched one company at a time by anyone with a USDOT or MC number. - Haulwide’s profiles place the same records side by side for companies a customer is comparing. - Any listed number can be checked through Haulwide’s company lookup or on the FMCSA website.

Between the lines: - Haulwide is trying to turn scattered federal records into a consumer-facing comparison tool. - The focus on broker authority, carrier authority and deposit timing points to the main risk for shoppers: paying before understanding who is actually responsible for the move. - Haulwide’s emphasis on sourced pricing and federal records suggests a pitch around transparency rather than a direct booking service. - The company says it does not transport vehicles, does not act as a broker and does not accept payment for rankings. - Haulwide says it may earn a fee when a customer requests a quote or books through a partner, but that fee does not affect company rankings.

What's next: - Haulwide is likely to keep expanding the set of companies and routes it covers as consumers use the comparison tool. - The site’s sourced pricing and federal-record lookup tools can be used together as a pre-booking checklist for shoppers. - Consumers can continue verifying any broker or carrier number directly through the FMCSA register or Haulwide’s lookup tool.

The bottom line: - Haulwide is packaging public federal trucking records with price data to make car shipping comparisons more transparent and easier to verify.