Carrier profile · USDOT 1796126 · MC-653932 · Updated Aug 20, 2026

Chris Helms Transportation Inc

46 power unitsavg 7.3 yrMulti-region · 12 statesHOUGHTON LAKE, MI81/100

CARRIER ACTIVEMC-653932 ACTIVERATED SATISFACTORY

Observed fleet · trailing 24 mo daily

46Power units

35 observed · MCS-150

41Trailers seen

Decoded · vPIC

7.3Avg age (yr)

2000–2026 · vPIC

Call dispatch(989) 240-1003 Email dispatchchris@chrishelmstransportation.com

Click to see how we scored it

Load decision · FMCSA snapshot · Aug 20, 2026

Review before loading

Operating, but with flags a broker should weigh before tendering freight.

Watch · 2

Vehicle out-of-service rate above average27.3% vs the 22.26% national average.Fatal crash on record1 crash(es) involving a fatality are on this carrier's record.

In good standing · 3

Active operating authorityActive for-hire authority is on file with FMCSA.Insurance on fileBIPD (liability) insurance is on file with FMCSA.Established 18 yearsOperating authority has been on file since 2008.

USDOT registration

yr registered

Active for-hire

Insurance (BIPD)$750K in force

FMCSA L&I

Vehicle OOS · 24-mo27.3%

▲ 22.26% nat'l

Crashes · fatal

5 in 24 mo

USDOT registration

yr registered

Active for-hire

Insurance (BIPD)$750K in force

FMCSA L&I

Vehicle OOS · 24-mo27.3%

▲ 22.26% nat'l

Crashes · fatal

5 in 24 mo

Vektor intelligence · beyond the federal recordProprietary signals computed from VIN-decoded inspections & daily FMCSA snapshots

Fleet typeIdentity

Asset-based

46 power units. Brokers price each fleet type apart.

Fleet age vs peersTypical

7.3 yr

Model years 2000–2026 · peer benchmark unavailable.

Identity stabilityStable

18 yr unchanged

Same registration since 2008 — no chameleon / reincarnation signal.

Safety

61 inspections · 24 mo · vs national benchmarks

Out-of-service rate· 24-mo cumulative · vs national

Vehicle OOS 27.3%24-mo cumulative

050%nat'l 22.26%

Driver OOS 3.3%24-mo cumulative

030%nat'l 6.67%

Every inspection in the window pooled — 33 vehicle and 61 driver inspections over 24 months.

Vehicle OOS rate· vehicle OOS · vehicle-level inspections · 6-month trailing

11.1% · latest 6-mo window▲ Rising

Share of vehicle-level roadside inspections in each trailing six-month window that resulted in a vehicle out-of-service order. Trending up 5.0 pts across the window. The national vehicle benchmark uses the same metric and is shown on the chart.

Roadside inspection history· 24 charted calendar months · vehicle / driver level · any-OOS overlay

58 inspections in the charted months · busiest month Jan '25 · 6

Vehicle-levelDriver-levelAny OOS

Monthly FMCSA roadside inspections across the 24 charted calendar months. Bars show level-qualified vehicle and driver populations; one inspection can qualify for both. The line shows inspections with any out-of-service result.

Inspection coverage· expected vs observed · the fraud signal

Inspection coverage

How heavily FMCSA inspects this fleet for its size — it tells you how much to trust the safety signals above. Thin coverage on a young authority is a fraud signal nobody else surfaces.

Expected band

Under-inspected

Expected

Well-monitored

Heavily inspected

≈0.7 / unit·yr

thin signalabundant signal

Roadside-inspection volume is about what you'd expect for a 46-unit fleet — enough signal to read the safety record, though not a heavy sample.

Registered power units: 46
Inspections · 24 mo: 61
Annualized: ≈31 / yr
Coverage: ≈0.7 inspections / unit · yr

Violation themes· decoded · grouped by BASIC

What this carrier actually gets cited for — FMCSA violation codes decoded into plain English, ranked by frequency.

392.2 State/local traffic law violation (speeding, etc.)Unsafe Driving68 · 0 OOS
393.9 Inoperative required lampsVehicle Maintenance15 · 3 OOS
395.8 Record of duty status (log / ELD) not current or missingHOS Compliance10 · 2 OOS
393.75 Tires (defective / underinflated / worn)Vehicle Maintenance9 · 8 OOS
393.55 Antilock brake system (ABS)Vehicle Maintenance8 · 0 OOS
395.22 ELD — provider/registration/malfunctionHOS Compliance6 · 0 OOS
393.45 Brake tubing / hose defectsVehicle Maintenance6 · 0 OOS
393.95 Emergency equipment (extinguisher, triangles)Vehicle Maintenance5 · 0 OOS
395.24 ELD — record edits / dataHOS Compliance5 · 0 OOS
393.11 Required lamps/reflectors missingVehicle Maintenance5 · 1 OOS

Explore full safety record — inspections, BASICs, crashes

Authority & Insurance

Can they legally + adequately haul your load?

Operating authority· 49 CFR · per type

Operating authority

Common: None
Contract: Active
Broker: None

Insurance & bonds

BIPD / liability$750,000 in force

Cargo filing (census)Not recorded per census

Surety bond (census)Not recorded per census

Insurance adequacy· filed BIPD vs the $750K federal floor

$750K in forcegeneral-freight federal minimum

$750K floor

Filed BIPD coverage of $750K meets or exceeds the $750K federal minimum for general freight (49 CFR 387.9). Some commodities (hazmat, larger vehicles) require $1M–$5M — confirm against your load.

Insurance continuity· insurer · policy · lapses

$750K BIPD last filed ’16 · 3 insurers · 0 lapsesContinuous

Great West’09–’11

Acuity A’11–’16

beyond this history

2008201320182023now

Shorter eras are too brief to label at this scale — all 3 insurers are named in the list below.

BIPD in force — $750,000 · AUTO OWNERS INSURANCE COMPANY · since Aug 2016

All 3 insurer eras · dates, limits, renewals

Insurer	Period	Limit	Renewals
ACUITY, A MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY	Aug 2011 → Aug 2016	$750K	2
GREAT WEST CASUALTY CO.	Aug 2009 → Sep 2011	$750K	2
PROGRESSIVE MICHIGAN INSURANCE COMPANY	Aug 2008 → Aug 2009	$750K	1

Explore full authority & insurance record

Equipment

VIN-decoded · NHTSA vPIC

Capacity· power units = haulable capacity; trailers are towed

Registered power units (MCS-150): 46
Observed power (24 mo): 35
Trailers (towed): 41

Capacity is power units only — trailers are towed equipment and are never summed into a fleet-size figure.

Fleet age· model years · decoded VINs

7.3 yr

Average age

2026

Newest model yr

2000

Oldest model yr

51.3%

VINs decoded

Explore full fleet — VIN roster, equipment mix, age distribution

Operations & Lanes

Revealed by inspection density across 12 states · 24 mo

Operating footprint· revealed by roadside-inspection geography

Operating radiusMulti-region

revealed

States observed

US states

Inspections · 24 mo

MI busiest

Inspection density by state· each tile = a state · shade = inspections, last 24 mo

Home base

HOUGHTON LAKE, MI

1000 SHORELINE DR

Top corridor

MI 32 · OH 10 · TN 3

Density

fewermore

Shade = roadside inspections, last 24 mo.

See the full operating map — state density, top lanes

Network & Fraud

Affiliated entities & reincarnation signals · for review, not a verdict

Last 12 months: 2 trucks also ran under 2 other carriers

VINs inspected under this carrier were recently inspected under other USDOTs too — the active double-broker / shared-equipment signal: USDOT 947810 USDOT 4541485Some overlap is legitimate (leased or sold equipment); review alongside the other signals.

Show all-time history (9 trucks · 8 carriers)

Across all inspections on record: USDOT 2102687 USDOT 4186966 USDOT 4541485 USDOT 4467881 USDOT 2344467 USDOT 1540703 USDOT 1932749 USDOT 266610

Shares a company officer with other carriers

chris helms — 4 carriers: USDOT 586068 USDOT 1169111 USDOT 2565670

Capacity consistency· registered vs roadside-observed power units

Registered (MCS-150)

Observed (24 mo)

Shared w/ other carriers

Registered and roadside-observed capacity are broadly consistent.

Explore the carrier network & VIN cross-links

Identity & Federal

FMCSA census + L&I dossier

Location

Physical address: 1000 SHORELINE DR, HOUGHTON LAKE, MI, 48629
Operation: Interstate

Contact

Phone: (989) 240-1003
Fax: (888) 420-1778
Email: chris@chrishelmstransportation.com
Web domain: chrishelmstransportation.com

Registration

Officer: Chris Helms
USDOT / docket: 1796126 · MC-653932
First registered: Jul 28, 2008
Last MCS-150: Oct 7, 2025 · 3,964,484 mi (2024)
FMCSA safety rating: Satisfactory · Apr 21, 2023
Recordable crash rate: 0.00
D-U-N-S: —

Fleet (self-reported · MCS-150)

Power units

Drivers

CDL drivers

3,964,484

Annual mileage

Open the full identity & federal record

Federal activity

Daily-captured FMCSA licensing & insurance changes — monitored by Vektor

Federal record activity· monitored daily by Vektor

No licensing or insurance changes captured since Vektor began monitoring this carrier (June 2026). Quiet is usually good.

Open the full federal-record activity feed

Reviews

Verified broker, shipper & driver reviews — moderated

Performance ratings only — never the Vektor risk score

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Verification summaryAuthority, insurance, safety and identity facts for CHRIS HELMS TRANSPORTATION INC.

CHRIS HELMS TRANSPORTATION INC (USDOT 1796126) has a Vektor safety score of 81/100 and a Review before loading verdict, from the carrier's FMCSA record refreshed Aug 20, 2026.

The carrier holds active contract for-hire operating authority per FMCSA L&I as of Aug 20, 2026.

It has an active BIPD insurance filing with a $750,000 limit in force from AUTO OWNERS INSURANCE COMPANY effective Aug 21, 2016 in FMCSA L&I's current snapshot as of Aug 20, 2026.

Its vehicle out-of-service rate was 27.3% over the last 24 months, versus the 22.26% CVSA national average, from FMCSA roadside-inspection data refreshed Aug 20, 2026.

The carrier received 61 roadside inspections in the last 24 months — 33 vehicle-level and 61 driver-level — across 12 states, according to FMCSA roadside-inspection data refreshed Aug 20, 2026.

The carrier has 5 reportable crashes in the last 24 months and 1 fatal crash across the full FMCSA crash record available as of Aug 20, 2026.

It reports 46 power units and 46 drivers in its most recent MCS-150 filing dated Oct 7, 2025.

It has an FMCSA safety rating of Satisfactory assigned Apr 21, 2023 in the federal record refreshed Aug 20, 2026.

Frequently asked

What is CHRIS HELMS TRANSPORTATION INC's USDOT number?

CHRIS HELMS TRANSPORTATION INC's USDOT number is 1796126, and its motor carrier number is MC-653932.

Is CHRIS HELMS TRANSPORTATION INC authorized to operate?

As of Aug 20, 2026, CHRIS HELMS TRANSPORTATION INC is active in the FMCSA register with common, contract, broker operating authority on file.

What is CHRIS HELMS TRANSPORTATION INC's safety record?

CHRIS HELMS TRANSPORTATION INC has a 27.3% vehicle out-of-service rate (national average 22.26%) across 110 roadside inspections, with 5 reportable crashes in the last 24 months, and an FMCSA "Satisfactory" safety rating. Vektor's computed risk score is 81/100 (tier: review).

How big is CHRIS HELMS TRANSPORTATION INC's fleet?

CHRIS HELMS TRANSPORTATION INC operates 46 power units and 46 drivers per its most recent MCS-150 filing.

Where is CHRIS HELMS TRANSPORTATION INC based?

CHRIS HELMS TRANSPORTATION INC is based in HOUGHTON LAKE, MI, with roadside inspections recorded across 12 states.

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