FIRST RATE EXCAVATE INC

DOT# 468424 MC# 881130 DUNS# 154555460 Sioux Falls, SD Authorized For-Hire / Private Property
(605) 331-5626 office@firstrateexcavate.com 1509 East 39th St N, Sioux Falls SD 57104
49 power units · all owned 80 drivers
Strong
FRED Score 80.2 / 100
Moderate confidence
34 yrs history · 35 roadside inspections

FMCSA Live Status

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Fleet & equipment

Power units
49
Drivers · CDL
80 · 80
Annual miles
1.1M unreliable
Type Own Term Trip Total
Trucks 32 0 0 32
Tractors 17 0 0 17
Trailers 16 0 0 16

Registration

Organization
CORPORATION
FMCSA Rating
Satisfactory (02-13-2024)
Registered
01-16-1992 (34 yrs)
MCS-150 Update
02-25-2026 (Address Change)
FRED Score Date
Nov 07, 2026
Officer
STEVEN UTECH
Officer
HAROLD GOEDEN

Cargo

59.2
medium risk
Machinery/Large Objects Logs/Poles/Beams/Lumber Building Materials Other: GRAVEL DIRT Utility Construction
High-Risk Cargo
Machinery Large

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 lower than similar fleets (about an 80% chance), but the record is too thin to say by how much.

Similar fleets: for-hire fleets of 20–49 trucks with the same kind of operation, years in business and amount of road activity. Compared using its own crash record and roadside inspections.

This motor carrier 0.70×
ExcellentStrongSatisf.MarginalPoorCritical
▲ Similar fleets 1.0×
Expected crashes, next 12 months
1.0 vs 1.4 for similar fleets
Likely 0–3 crashes
This motor carrier
1.0
Similar fleets
1.4
Chance of a fatal crash, next 12 months
~3%
Below similar fleets.
What's driving the grade
Crash history
betterworse
Leans better, not yet proven. 0 crashes on the FMCSA record in 24 months; similar fleets have about 1.4 a year. The grade counts 2 crashes in its 36-month scoring window, recent ones weighted most.
Roadside inspections
betterworse
Better than peers. Unsafe-driving and hours-of-service violations 0.48× the rate expected for its inspections. Together they move its crash estimate -8%: 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.

  • Brakes and lights
    Brakes are 9 of 30 violations (30%). Brake or light defects led to 5 out-of-service orders.
    Ask: the preventive-maintenance schedule and shop records.
  • Vehicle out-of-service rate
    38.9% of vehicle inspections end out of service vs 22.3% nationally (7 of 18), but across all its inspections out-of-service orders are 1.01× what's expected for where and how it's inspected, the measure the grade uses.
Strengths
  • No reportable crashes in 24 months.
  • Driver out-of-service rate 0.0% vs 6.7% national.
  • No FMCSA BASIC alerts.
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, Oct 2024 – Sep 2026 · grade scored on Sep 1, 2023 → Sep 30, 2026
Crashes
0
0 fatalities · 0 injuries · 0 tow-aways
Inspections
35
57% clean (no violations)
Vehicle out-of-service
38.9%
7 of 18
National avg 22.3%
Driver out-of-service
0.0%
0 of 35
National avg 6.7%
Violations
30
8 out-of-service
Inspections per quarter With an out-of-service order
Q4 '24: 6 inspections, 0 out of service 6 Q4 '24 Q1 '25: 1 inspections, 0 out of service 1 Q1 '25 Q2 '25: 5 inspections, 1 out of service 5 Q2 '25 Q3 '25: 7 inspections, 1 out of service 7 Q3 '25 Q4 '25: 3 inspections, 0 out of service 3 Q4 '25 Q1 '26: 6 inspections, 1 out of service 6 Q1 '26 Q2 '26: 2 inspections, 1 out of service 2 Q2 '26 Q3 '26: 5 inspections, 3 out of service 5 Q3 '26
vs 11,996 peer fleets
This motor carrierPeers
Crashes 0.010 0.027
Inspections 0.47 1.02
Violations 0.31 0.71
Critical violations 0.05 0.14

Yearly rates from the last 24 months. Peers: 20–49 power units, medium-risk cargo.

What they get cited for

30 violations · 24 months
  • Vehicle maintenance No alert
    27 · 8 OOS
    Brakes 9 · Lights 8 · Cargo securement 3 · Tires 2 · Wheels & hubs 2 · 3 more
  • Unsafe driving No alert
    3 · 0 OOS
    Seat belt 2 · Speeding 1
  • Hours of service No alert
    0
  • Driver fitness 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

No reportable crashes on the FMCSA record in the last 24 months.

Insurance filed with FMCSA

FMCSA record through Nov 2, 2026
Today · live FMCSA check
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Liability (BIPD)
$750,000 · Phoenix Insurance Company
on record since Nov 3, 2016 · FMCSA minimum $750,000 · no gap on FMCSA's record since Aug 2014
Cargo filing
not required by FMCSA (household-goods motor carriers only); the cargo policy is not on FMCSA's record
36 months to Nov 2, 2026
  • One liability insurer throughout
  • No gap in filed liability coverage while liability was required

Operating authority active (FMCSA's new registration system, status since Nov 29, 2016)

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
  • South Dakota (HQ) 29
  • Minnesota 3
  • Nebraska 2
  • Iowa 1

Mostly inspected in its home state (83%).