Answer extracted from the Hit The Brakes: The Can't Miss Topics in the Logistics Industry podcast — listen to the full episode below.
How can carriers maintain good standing with brokerages and avoid onboarding delays?
Keep your Certificate of Insurance (COI) current and updated with the FMCSA before expiration, report new trucks to the FMCSA immediately, and maintain all contact information including phone numbers and emails. Staying proactive about these compliance steps saves time on both sides of the onboarding process and keeps your carrier profile in good standing with brokerages.
Onboarding delays often stem from incomplete or outdated documentation. As Eric Garcia explains in the Hit The Brakes episode, compliance is one of the most important priorities for both carriers and freight brokers. A lapsed or missing Certificate of Insurance is one of the fastest ways to halt an onboarding application before it even gets reviewed.
Beyond your COI, the FMCSA system must reflect your current fleet composition. Every time you add a truck or trailer, report the vehicle and its plate numbers to the FMCSA without delay. Brokerages cross-reference this data during vetting, and discrepancies between your application and official FMCSA records create immediate red flags that stall the process.
Contact information accuracy is equally critical. A point emphasized throughout the onboarding conversation, outdated phone numbers or email addresses mean brokerages cannot reach you during the vetting phase. Maintain a single, monitored communication channel so brokers can verify information quickly and move your application forward.
"Now with AI, like a lot of people are implementing that, these bad actors are also using it and using it to their advantage as well."
Eric Garcia — Carrier Sales Manager, Fetch Freight. Garcia works directly in carrier vetting and onboarding, where he observes freight fraud and compliance issues in real time. He tracks how carrier identity verification has become more critical as fraudsters adopt AI and stolen carrier information to impersonate legitimate operators during the booking and onboarding process.
The broader context here is that Fetch Freight has to verify every detail of a carrier's identity and fleet to protect shippers from fraud. When your records are incomplete or outdated, it looks like a red flag—even if you're a legitimate operator. Brokerages now must work harder to confirm that you are who you claim to be, which naturally slows down onboarding.
The solution is straightforward: treat your FMCSA profile and insurance documentation as living records. Set calendar reminders for COI renewal dates at least 30 days before expiration, report fleet changes within 24 hours of purchase, and confirm your contact details quarterly. Proactive maintenance eliminates friction on both ends and signals to brokers that you run a compliant, professional operation.
See also
How have freight fraud tactics shifted from phone-based identity theft to AI-assisted schemes in carrier onboarding?
When Eric Garcia first started, fraud was primarily over the phone and could be detected by hearing the person's voice or background noise. Now, bad actors leverage AI and stolen carrier identities to impersonate real carriers, making fraud harder to detect during the onboarding process.
How does understanding industrial and infrastructure demand shape transportation strategy?
The explosion of data centers and AI facilities has brought industrial manufacturing demand that contributes to large-scale industrial projects across the country, directly influencing how transportation partners plan capacity and routing.
What criteria should shippers evaluate beyond pricing when selecting a transportation partner?
Shippers should emphasize responsiveness, communication level, and speed of communication, ensuring that communication flows freely and constantly whether through email, phone, or other channels.