MERRILL IRON & STEEL SERVICES LLC
Risk factors
Low riskVioCodes scoreA weighted read of the public FMCSA signals below — authority, insurance, out-of-service, crashes, roadside OOS rates, and carrier connections. A starting point for vetting, not a guarantee.
Broker payment signals
Bond, cancellation & authority risk for this broker — from free FMCSA records.
- Authority revoked 4 times historically (reinstated) — a pattern worth noting.
These are FMCSA bond & authority signals — not a credit report. A filed bond cancellation is the biggest early warning that a broker may stop paying, but days-to-pay and slow-pay history aren’t public FMCSA data — verify those with a broker-credit service or references before extending terms.
Roadside inspection performance
Out-of-service rate vs national average. Lower is better.
CSA performance breakdown
FMCSA · Sep 202633 inspections · 10 violations (2 OOS) · 7% of inspections had an OOS finding.
Violations by BASIC
click to filter codes
Top cited codes
score = count × severity weight
- 1393.75A3-TAOLVehicle Maintenance1 OOS
Tires - All others, leaking or inflation less than 50% of the maximum inflation pressure on tire not equipped with ATIS
8
1× · sev 8
- 2392.2-SLLS2Unsafe Driving
State/Local Laws - Speeding 6-10 miles per hour over the speed limit
4
1× · sev 4
- 3393.47E
Brake Out of Adjustment - Roto, Clamp (Short & Long), DD-3, or Bolt
3
3×
- 4393.53B
CMV manufactured after 10/19/94 has an automatic airbrake adjustment system that fails to compensate for wear
1
1×
- 5392.2-SLLEWA1
State/Local Laws - Excessive weight - 1-2500 lbs over on an axle/axle groups
1
1×
- 6393.55E
No or Defective ABS Malfunction Indicator Lamp for trailer manufactured after 03/01/1998
1
1×
- 7392.2-SLLTL
State/Local Laws - Misc. traffic law violation
1
1×
- 8396.3A1BOSVehicle Maintenance1 OOS
BRAKES OUT OF SERVICE: The number of defective brakes is equal to or greater than 20 percent of the service brakes on the vehicle or combination
0
1× · sev 0
Most inspected in · top 8 states
- WI10
- MO5
- IL5
- MI3
- OH1
- IA1
- TN1
- MN1
Latest FMCSA SMS snapshot. Codes link to the lookup — severity weighting, contest angles, and the DataQs Drafter for each. Click a BASIC to filter the codes.
Safety trends & next-run projection
Where each BASIC sits today, how it ranks against peers, and where it’s heading at the next monthly SMS run.
FMCSA keeps the Crash Indicator percentile private, and its measure needs a power-unit history public data doesn’t expose — so it can’t be estimated yet. VioCodes now records power units monthly, so a calibrated Crash estimate should light up over time. These are the public crash facts (all state-reportable crashes count, regardless of fault).
“Projected” estimates the next monthly SMS run from inspections on record now. FMCSA marks the BASIC percentile itself “Not Public,” so the percentile shown is a VioCodes estimate of how the carrier ranks against its peers, presented as a likely range (shaded on the gauge) and calibrated against real carriers. Crash Indicator has no public estimate — FMCSA keeps its measures fully private. Estimates, not official FMCSA figures. Not affiliated with FMCSA.
Recommendations
What’s driving each score, what to do about it, and where it could go.
Hours-of-Service Compliance needs attention
Low impactEstimated Hours-of-Service Compliance percentile of 0% is under the 65% line. In decent shape, but here's what's driving it.
- Review recent inspections with violations in this BASIC and take remedial action with drivers/equipment
Driver Fitness needs attention
Low impactEstimated Driver Fitness percentile of 0% is under the 80% line. In decent shape, but here's what's driving it.
- Review recent inspections with violations in this BASIC and take remedial action with drivers/equipment
Controlled Substances/Alcohol needs attention
Low impactEstimated Controlled Substances/Alcohol percentile of 0% is under the 80% line. In decent shape, but here's what's driving it.
- Review recent inspections with violations in this BASIC and take remedial action with drivers/equipment
Recommendations are generated from the carrier’s public FMCSA roadside-inspection record. Percentiles and projections are VioCodes estimates, not official FMCSA figures. Informational, not legal advice.
90-day safety improvement plan
What this carrier has struggled with most in the last 90 days — where to focus now.
Based on roadside inspections in the last 90 days, ranked by what recurs most. Informational, not legal advice.
Inspection & crash map
live · FMCSA MCMISEvery inspection and crash on record — hover a point for the summary, click for full detail (codes, severity, CSA points).
CSA points = violation severity weight × FMCSA time weight (3× in the last 6 months, 2× at 6–12, 1× at 12–24). Points are spread within each state — FMCSA records the inspection state, not an exact location. Source: FMCSA MCMIS.
Equipment
VINs via NHTSA58 distinct vehicles seen in this carrier’s roadside inspections.
+ 28 more.
Equipment is inferred from VINs recorded on roadside inspections (FMCSA MCMIS), decoded via the NHTSA vPIC API — it reflects vehicles inspected, not a current fleet roster.
Crash record (US, last 24 months)
Total
1
Tow-away
1
Injury
0
Fatal
0
Company profile
FMCSA censusAUTHORIZED FOR HIRE
- Interstate · 100+ mi15 drivers
- Intrastate · <100 mi4 drivers
- Company officer
- KATIE FRANZEN
- Operation
- Interstate · Hazmat
- Registered since
- 1997-03-25
- Last MCS-150 update
- 2026-03-17
- Census status
- Active
Fleet: 24 trucks · 24 owned tractors · 130 owned trailers.
Source: FMCSA Company Census File (data.transportation.gov). Fleet and driver counts are self-reported on the carrier’s most recent MCS-150 filing.
Connections
carrier graphThis carrier shares VINs with 2 other carriers — review the connections below as part of your vetting.
Shared VINs come from FMCSA roadside-inspection records — a vehicle inspected under more than one carrier, often a fleet transfer or trailer interchange. Other links come from the FMCSA census. Shared identifiers are common and often legitimate — treat these as leads to investigate, not proof of wrongdoing.
Activity history
26 events- 03/17/2026MCS-150 update filed
1.7M mi reported (2025)
- 12/20/2024Insurance cancelled — SENTRY INSURANCE COMPANY
CARGO · policy 90-14896-05
- 05/07/2020Insurance filed — SENTRY INSURANCE COMPANY
Liability (BIPD) — BMC-91X · policy 90-14896-05
- 05/07/2020Insurance replaced — SENTRY INSURANCE COMPANY
BIPD/Primary · policy 90-14896-05
- 11/30/2016Insurance cancelled — SENTRY CASUALTY COMPANY
BIPD/Primary · policy 90-14896-05
- 10/01/2013Insurance filed — LIBERTY MUTUAL INSURANCE CO.
Property broker surety — BMC-84 · policy 354-031-946
- 10/01/2013Insurance replaced — LIBERTY MUTUAL INSURANCE CO.
SURETY · policy 354-030-031
- 05/26/2013Insurance cancelled — WAUSAU UNDERWRITERS INSURANCE COMPANY
BIPD/Primary · policy ASJ-Z91-445460-09
- 05/01/2013Insurance replaced — WAUSAU UNDERWRITERS INSURANCE COMPANY
BIPD/Primary · policy ASJ-Z91-445460-09
- 04/29/2013COMMON — INVOLUNTARY REVOCATION
DISCONTINUED REVOCATION (05/08/2013)
- 04/29/2013CONTRACT — INVOLUNTARY REVOCATION
DISCONTINUED REVOCATION (05/08/2013)
- 07/30/2012PROPERTY BROKER — GRANTED
- 06/15/2012MOTOR PROPERTY COMMON CARRIER — GRANTED
- 07/19/2010Insurance name changed — WAUSAU UNDERWRITERS INSURANCE COMPANY
BIPD/Primary · policy ASJ-Z91-445460-09
- 06/16/2010CONTRACT — INVOLUNTARY REVOCATION
DISCONTINUED REVOCATION (06/29/2010)
- 06/03/2010Insurance cancelled — THE CHARTER OAK FIRE INSURANCE CO.
BIPD/Primary · policy Y-810-5142N712-COF-09
- 05/07/2010CONTRACT — INVOLUNTARY REVOCATION
DISCONTINUED REVOCATION (05/17/2010)
- 05/01/2010Insurance replaced — TRAVELERS PROPERTY CASUALTY CO. OF AMERICA
CARGO · policy QT-660-9505L379-TIL-09
- 05/01/2010Insurance replaced — WAUSAU UNDERWRITERS INSURANCE COMPANY
BIPD/Primary · policy ASJ-Z91-445460-09
- 05/01/2010Insurance replaced — THE CHARTER OAK FIRE INSURANCE CO.
BIPD/Primary · policy Y-810-5142N712-COF-09
- 05/01/2009Insurance replaced — EMPLOYERS INSURANCE OF WAUSAU, A MUTUAL CO.
BIPD/Primary · policy ASCY91445460017
- 05/01/2009Insurance replaced — WAUSAU BUSINESS INSURANCE COMPANY
CARGO · policy YYKY91445460037
- 05/01/2007Insurance replaced — WEST BEND MUTUAL INSURANCE CO.
BIPD · policy 011 006 93 81
- 05/01/2007Insurance replaced — EMPLOYERS INSURANCE OF WAUSAU, A MUTUAL CO.
BIPD/Primary · policy ASCY91445460017
- 03/25/1997Registered with FMCSA
AUTHORIZED FOR HIRE
- 12/27/1996MOTOR PROPERTY CONTRACT CARRIER — GRANTED
Merged from FMCSA authority, insurance, out-of-service, and census records.
Operations
Classification
- AUTHORIZED FOR HIRE
Area served
- Interstate
FMCSA safety rating
- Rating
- Satisfactory
- Type
- Non-ratable review
- Rated
- 2008-05-02
- Last review
- 2021-11-03
MCS-150 registration
- Form date
- 2026-03-17
- Reported mileage
- 1,669,626 mi (2025)
Got a violation you want to contest?
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