CSS FARMS LLC

DOT# 632653 FF# 55229 Watertown, SD Authorized For-Hire / Private Property
(308) 236-4064 jennifer.hourigan@cssfarms.com 3334 9th Avenue Sw, Watertown SD 57201
256 power units · all owned 93 drivers
Satisfactory Provisional: the filed fleet isn't backed up by the roadside record (only 9 of the 256 filed power units were seen at a roadside inspection in 24 months), so the grade can't lean on this motor carrier's own history until the fleet size is confirmed.
FRED Score 75.0 / 100
Prior-only confidence
30 yrs history · 15 roadside inspections
Upside capped

FMCSA Live Status

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Fleet & equipment

Power units
256
Drivers · CDL
93 · 70
Annual miles
1.5M unreliable
Type Own Term Trip Total
Trucks 216 0 0 216
Tractors 40 0 0 40
Trailers 198 0 0 198

Registration

Organization
CORPORATION
Registered
03-06-1996 (30 yrs)
MCS-150 Update
03-25-2025 (Address Change)
FRED Score Date
Nov 08, 2026
Officer
STEVEN GANGWISH

Cargo

70.0
medium risk
Machinery/Large Objects Fresh Produce
High-Risk Cargo
Machinery Large

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

Upside Withheld

Its risk relativity (0.49× similar fleets) would put it in Excellent; these rules hold it at Satisfactory:

  • Excellent withheld: driver-behaviour relativity above 1.0×
  • Upside withheld: under 0.1 inspections per filed power unit

The downside is never capped.

Exposure Unverified

The expected crashes behind this grade assume the filed fleet of 256 power units is real, but the roadside record corroborates little of it — 9 units seen in 24 months, 0.03 inspections per filed unit-year. The grade's relativity to class is unchanged; its confidence tier is cut to reflect the unverified exposure, and until the fleet is confirmed an Excellent grade shows as Strong and a Strong as Satisfactory. Verify the fleet size before relying on the crash expectation.

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).

Too little record to tell how this motor carrier's crash rate compares with similar fleets.

Similar fleets: interstate fleets of 200–499 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 0.49×
ExcellentStrongSatisf.MarginalPoorCritical
▲ Similar fleets 1.0×
Expected crashes, next 12 months
0.7 vs 1.4 for similar fleets
Likely 0–2 crashes
This motor carrier
0.7
Similar fleets
1.4
Chance of a fatal crash, next 12 months
~2%
Below similar fleets.
What's driving the grade
Crash history
betterworse
Too little record to tell. 0 crashes on the FMCSA record in 24 months; similar fleets have about 1.4 a year.
Roadside inspections
betterworse
Much worse than peers. Violations 2.03× and out-of-service orders 1.36× 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.

  • Vehicle out-of-service rate
    63.6% of vehicle inspections end out of service vs 22.3% nationally (7 of 11). Across all its inspections, out-of-service orders run 1.36× what's expected for where and how it's inspected.
  • Filed fleet not seen on the road
    Only 9 of the 256 filed power units were seen at a roadside inspection in 24 months (15 inspections in all). The crash expectation behind the grade assumes all 256 are running.
    Ask: how many trucks are actually operating, with the vehicle schedule (the MCS-150 was last updated Mar 2025).
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 – Jul 2026 · grade scored on Oct 1, 2023 → Oct 31, 2026
Crashes
0
0 fatalities · 0 injuries · 0 tow-aways
Inspections
15
33% clean (no violations)
Vehicle out-of-service
63.6%
7 of 11
National avg 22.3%
Driver out-of-service
0.0%
0 of 14
National avg 6.7%
Violations
40
8 out-of-service

Inspected less often than interstate fleets of 200–499 trucks in South Dakota (about 216 in 24 months would be typical).

Inspections per quarter With an out-of-service order
Q4 '24: 2 inspections, 2 out of service 2 Q4 '24 Q1 '25: 2 inspections, 2 out of service 2 Q1 '25 Q2 '25: 1 inspections, 0 out of service 1 Q2 '25 Q3 '25: 4 inspections, 1 out of service 4 Q3 '25 Q4 '25: 2 inspections, 1 out of service 2 Q4 '25 Q1 '26: 1 inspections, 0 out of service 1 Q1 '26 Q2 '26: 2 inspections, 1 out of service 2 Q2 '26 Q3 '26: 1 inspections, 0 out of service 1 Q3 '26
vs 940 peer fleets
This motor carrierPeers
Crashes 0.000 0.023
Inspections 0.04 0.77
Violations 0.08 0.33
Critical violations 0.01 0.07

Yearly rates from the last 24 months. Peers: interstate fleets, 200–499 power units, medium-risk cargo.

What they get cited for

40 violations · 24 months
  • Vehicle maintenance No alert
    36 · 8 OOS
    Lights 9 · Brakes 8 · Cargo securement 5 · Wheels & hubs 3 · Tires 1 · 10 more
  • Unsafe driving No alert
    3 · 0 OOS
    Seat belt 3
  • Driver fitness No alert
    1 · 0 OOS
    English proficiency 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

Tap a category to show or hide it
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 7, 2026
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Liability (BIPD)
$2,000,000 · Arch Insurance Company
on record since Oct 1, 2026 · FMCSA minimum $750,000 · no gap on FMCSA's record since Jan 2022
1 other liability filing also on file
Cargo filing
not required by FMCSA (household-goods motor carriers only); the cargo policy is not on FMCSA's record
Broker or forwarder bond
$75,000 surety bond (BMC-84) · Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company since Sep 5, 2024
36 months to Nov 7, 2026
  • One liability insurer throughout
  • No gap in filed liability coverage while liability was required
Authority
  • FMCSA notice resolved in time: 1

Operating authority active (FMCSA's new registration system, status since Aug 15, 2022)

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

Loading map data…
Inspections by state
  • Washington 11
  • Texas 3
  • New York 1