STERLING CORPORATION

DOT# 2137906 MC# 219181 Lowell, MA Authorized For-Hire
(978) 322-2780 263 Industrial Ave, Lowell MA 01852
12 power units · all owned 21 drivers
Marginal
FRED Score 35.9 / 100
Low confidence
15 yrs history · 9 roadside inspections

FMCSA Live Status

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Fleet & equipment

Power units
12
Drivers · CDL
21 · 13
Annual miles
120k unreliable
Type Own Term Trip Total
Trucks 6 0 0 6
Tractors 6 0 0 6
Trailers 30 0 0 30

Registration

Registered
04-01-2011 (15 yrs)
MCS-150 Update
08-19-2024
FRED Score Date
Nov 08, 2026
Officer
ROBERT MCSHEEHY

Cargo

67.0
medium risk
Household Goods General Freight
High-Risk Cargo
General Freight, Household Goods

Note: "General Freight" is a catch-all; the actual cargo mix and its risk may differ.

Estimated from the commodity types reported to FMCSA, not from loss history or the true cargo mix.

Mileage Unreliable

MCS-150 annual mileage appears too low for fleet size given observed activity. The per-100k-mile rate benchmarks on this page are excluded; the FRED grade does not use mileage (crash exposure is power-unit-years, violation exposure is inspection counts).

Expected crash rate is probably higher than similar fleets (about a 60% chance), but the record is too thin to say by how much.

Similar fleets: interstate fleets of 10–19 trucks with the same kind of operation, years in business and amount of road activity. Compared using its own crash record and roadside inspections.

Per truck, fleets like this one are expected to crash about 0.6× as often as the median active fleet of 10–19 trucks.

This motor carrier 1.42×
ExcellentStrongSatisf.MarginalPoorCritical
▲ Similar fleets 1.0×
Expected crashes, next 12 months
0.4 vs 0.3 for similar fleets
Likely 0–1 crashes
This motor carrier
0.4
Similar fleets
0.3
Chance of a fatal crash, next 12 months
~1%
About 1.4× similar fleets.
What's driving the grade
Crash history
betterworse
Leans worse, not yet proven. 2 crashes on the FMCSA record in 24 months (about 1 a year); similar fleets have about 0.3 a year. The grade counts 3 crashes in its 36-month scoring window, recent ones weighted most.
Roadside inspections
betterworse
Better than peers. Out-of-service orders 0.58×, unsafe-driving and hours-of-service violations 0.69× and violations 0.77× the rate expected for its inspections. Together they move its crash estimate -10%: roadside results weigh far less than crash history.

Worth a closer look

From the FMCSA record. The grade already counts the safety items; insurance filings and links to other motor carriers are not in it.

  • Nothing on the FMCSA record stands out.
Strengths
  • 2 crashes in 24 months. No injuries, no fatalities.
Data flags
  • Unreliable reported mileage
    The motor carrier's self-reported annual mileage (MCS-150) looks implausible, so exposure- and mileage-based figures may be distorted.
  • Estimated mileage
    No usable mileage was reported, so exposure was estimated from similar motor carriers. Mileage-based metrics here are approximate.

Track record

FMCSA record, Feb 2025 – Jun 2026 · grade scored on Oct 1, 2023 → Oct 31, 2026
Crashes
2
0 fatalities · 0 injuries · 0 tow-aways
Inspections
9
67% clean (no violations)
Vehicle out-of-service
16.7%
1 of 6
National avg 22.3%
Driver out-of-service
0.0%
0 of 9
National avg 6.7%
Violations
6
1 out-of-service

Inspected about as often as interstate fleets of 10–19 trucks in Massachusetts (about 10 in 24 months would be typical).

Inspections per quarter With an out-of-service order
Q1 '25: 1 inspections, 0 out of service 1 Q1 '25 Q2 '25: 3 inspections, 0 out of service 3 Q2 '25 Q3 '25: 1 inspections, 1 out of service 1 Q3 '25 Q4 '25: 0 inspections, 0 out of service 0 Q4 '25 Q1 '26: 0 inspections, 0 out of service 0 Q1 '26 Q2 '26: 4 inspections, 0 out of service 4 Q2 '26
vs 14,144 peer fleets
This motor carrierPeers
Crashes 0.125 0.034
Inspections 0.75 1.23
Violations 0.25 0.97
Critical violations 0.04 0.18

Yearly rates from the last 24 months. Peers: interstate fleets, 10–19 power units, medium-risk cargo.

What they get cited for

6 violations · 24 months
  • Vehicle maintenance No alert
    4 · 1 OOS
    Lights 3 · Tires 1
  • Unsafe driving No alert
    1 · 0 OOS
    Reckless / lane 1
  • Driver fitness No alert
    1 · 0 OOS
    Medical certificate 1
  • Hours of service No alert
    0
  • Drugs & alcohol No alert
    0
Out-of-service violations “No alert” = under FMCSA's BASIC intervention threshold

Violations by quarter

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No violation trend data

Crashes

24 months
2 crashes
  • Sep
    16
    2025
    Massachusetts
    Property damage only
    Daylight, two-way trafficway divided unprotected median.
  • Jul
    28
    2025
    Vermont
    Property damage only
    Daylight, two-way trafficway divided unprotected median.

Insurance filed with FMCSA

FMCSA record through May 14, 2026 · no change recorded by FMCSA since
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Last on FMCSA's record (May 14, 2026)
$1,000,000 · VANLINER INSURANCE COMPANY
on record since Aug 31, 2016 · FMCSA minimum $750,000 · no gap on FMCSA's record since Apr 1993
Cargo filing
required · on file · VANLINER INSURANCE COMPANY since Aug 31, 2016
Broker or forwarder bond
$75,000 surety bond (BMC-84) · HARTFORD FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY since Jun 5, 2019
36 months to May 14, 2026
  • One liability insurer throughout
  • No gap in filed liability coverage while liability was required

Operating authority active (FMCSA's L&I record of May 14, 2026, status since Sep 8, 2011)

Who insures fleets like this →

FMCSA filings only, not a policy audit. Not part of the FRED grade. Wrong or out of date?

Where it happens

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Inspections by state
  • Massachusetts (HQ) 3
  • Maine 3
  • Connecticut 2
  • New Hampshire 1