Carrier profile · USDOT 3385236 · MC-1087106 · Updated Aug 20, 2026

Carstens Express LLC

6 power unitsavg 5.8 yrRegional · 6 statesFONTANELLE, IA74/100

CARRIER ACTIVEMC-1087106 ACTIVEHAZMAT

Observed fleet · trailing 24 mo daily

6Power units

3 observed · MCS-150

6Trailers seen

Decoded · vPIC

5.8Avg age (yr)

2016–2024 · vPIC

Call dispatch(641) 745-0952 Email dispatchcarstensexpress@gmail.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 well above average40.0% of vehicle inspections were placed out of service vs the 22.26% national average.Driver out-of-service rate well above average22.2% of driver inspections were placed out of service vs the 6.7% national average.

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 7 yearsOperating authority has been on file since 2020.

USDOT registration

yr registered

Active for-hire

Insurance (BIPD)$1M in force

FMCSA L&I

Vehicle OOS · 24-mo40.0%

▲ 22.26% nat'l

Crashes · fatal

1 in 24 mo

USDOT registration

yr registered

Active for-hire

Insurance (BIPD)$1M in force

FMCSA L&I

Vehicle OOS · 24-mo40.0%

▲ 22.26% nat'l

Crashes · fatal

1 in 24 mo

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

Fleet typeIdentity

Small fleet

6 power units. Brokers price each fleet type apart.

Fleet age vs peersNewer

5.8 yr

Model years 2016–2024 · peer benchmark unavailable.

Identity stabilityStable

6 yr unchanged

Same registration since 2020 — no chameleon / reincarnation signal.

Safety

9 inspections · 24 mo · vs national benchmarks

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

Vehicle OOS 40.0%24-mo cumulative

050%nat'l 22.26%

Driver OOS 22.2%24-mo cumulative

030%nat'l 6.67%

Every inspection in the window pooled — 5 vehicle and 9 driver inspections over 24 months.

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

40.0% · latest 6-mo window

Share of vehicle-level roadside inspections in each trailing six-month window that resulted in a vehicle out-of-service order. More resolved windows are needed to establish a trend. 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

8 inspections in the charted months · busiest month Aug '26 · 2

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

≈0.8 / unit·yr

thin signalabundant signal

Roadside-inspection volume is about what you'd expect for a 6-unit fleet — enough signal to read the safety record, though not a heavy sample.

Registered power units: 6
Inspections · 24 mo: 9
Annualized: ≈5 / yr
Coverage: ≈0.8 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 Driving14 · 0 OOS
393.11 Required lamps/reflectors missingVehicle Maintenance4 · 0 OOS
395.8 Record of duty status (log / ELD) not current or missingHOS Compliance4 · 1 OOS
396.17 Periodic (annual) inspectionVehicle Maintenance3 · 0 OOS
396.3 Inspection / repair / maintenance not performedVehicle Maintenance2 · 2 OOS
393.75 Tires (defective / underinflated / worn)Vehicle Maintenance2 · 2 OOS
393.9 Inoperative required lampsVehicle Maintenance2 · 1 OOS
392.16 Failure to use seat beltUnsafe Driving1 · 0 OOS
393.78 Windshield wipersVehicle Maintenance1 · 0 OOS
393.81 HornVehicle Maintenance1 · 0 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$1,000,000 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

$1M in forcegeneral-freight federal minimum

$750K floor

Filed BIPD coverage of $1M 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 ’25 · 2 insurers · 0 lapsesContinuous

Progressive Northern’21–’24

Texas’24–now

202120232025now

BIPD in force — $1,000,000 · TEXAS INSURANCE COMPANY · since Oct 2025

All 2 insurer eras · dates, limits, renewals

Insurer	Period	Limit	Renewals
TEXAS INSURANCE COMPANY	Jul 2024 → Oct 2025	$750K	3
PROGRESSIVE NORTHERN INSURANCE COMPANY	Jul 2021 → Jul 2024	$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): 6
Observed power (24 mo): 3
Trailers (towed): 6

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

Fleet age· model years · decoded VINs

5.8 yr

Average age

2024

Newest model yr

2016

Oldest model yr

55.6%

VINs decoded

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

Operations & Lanes

Revealed by inspection density across 6 states · 24 mo

Operating footprint· revealed by roadside-inspection geography

Operating radiusRegional

revealed

States observed

US states

Inspections · 24 mo

IA busiest

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

Home base

FONTANELLE, IA

1627 FONTANELLE RD

Top corridor

IA 3 · NE 2 · ND 1

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

No shared-VIN flow in the last 12 months

None of this carrier's trucks were inspected under another USDOT in the last 12 months — any shared equipment is historical, not active.

Show all-time history (3 trucks · 2 carriers)

Across all inspections on record: USDOT 153427 USDOT 3046487

Shares a company officer with other carriers

kyle carstens — 5 carriers: USDOT 847430 USDOT 2346627 USDOT 3514566 USDOT 3620766

Capacity consistency· registered vs roadside-observed power units

Registered (MCS-150)

Observed (24 mo)

Shared w/ other carriers

Registered capacity materially exceeds what is observed roadside — the MCS-150 may be stale or the fleet under-utilized.

Explore the carrier network & VIN cross-links

Identity & Federal

FMCSA census + L&I dossier

Location

Physical address: 1627 FONTANELLE RD, FONTANELLE, IA, 50846
Mailing address: PO BOX 68, FONTANELLE, IA, 50846-0068
Operation: Interstate· Hazmat

Contact

Phone: (641) 745-0952
Email: carstensexpress@gmail.com

Registration

Officer: Kyle Carstens
USDOT / docket: 3385236 · MC-1087106
First registered: Jan 21, 2020
Last MCS-150: Oct 8, 2024 · 635,894 mi (2023)
FMCSA safety rating: Not rated
Recordable crash rate: 0.00
D-U-N-S: —

Fleet (self-reported · MCS-150)

Power units

Drivers

CDL drivers

635,894

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 CARSTENS EXPRESS LLC.

CARSTENS EXPRESS LLC (USDOT 3385236) has a Vektor safety score of 74/100 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 $1,000,000 limit in force from TEXAS INSURANCE COMPANY effective Oct 28, 2025 in FMCSA L&I's current snapshot as of Aug 20, 2026.

Its vehicle out-of-service rate was 40.0% over the last 24 months, versus the 22.26% CVSA national average, from FMCSA roadside-inspection data refreshed Aug 20, 2026.

The carrier received 9 roadside inspections in the last 24 months — 5 vehicle-level and 9 driver-level — across 6 states, according to FMCSA roadside-inspection data refreshed Aug 20, 2026.

The carrier has 1 reportable crash in the last 24 months and 0 fatal crashes across the full FMCSA crash record available as of Aug 20, 2026.

It reports 6 power units and 4 drivers in its most recent MCS-150 filing dated Oct 8, 2024.

It has no FMCSA-assigned safety rating in the federal record refreshed Aug 20, 2026.

Frequently asked

What is CARSTENS EXPRESS LLC's USDOT number?

CARSTENS EXPRESS LLC's USDOT number is 3385236, and its motor carrier number is MC-1087106.

Is CARSTENS EXPRESS LLC authorized to operate?

As of Aug 20, 2026, CARSTENS EXPRESS LLC is active in the FMCSA register with common, contract, broker operating authority on file.

What is CARSTENS EXPRESS LLC's safety record?

CARSTENS EXPRESS LLC has a 40.0% vehicle out-of-service rate (national average 22.26%) across 21 roadside inspections, with 1 reportable crash in the last 24 months, and is not currently rated by FMCSA. Vektor's computed risk score is 74/100 (tier: review).

How big is CARSTENS EXPRESS LLC's fleet?

CARSTENS EXPRESS LLC operates 6 power units and 4 drivers per its most recent MCS-150 filing.

Where is CARSTENS EXPRESS LLC based?

CARSTENS EXPRESS LLC is based in FONTANELLE, IA, with roadside inspections recorded across 6 states.

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