Carrier Risk Intelligence
High-Risk Carriers in Tennessee
Analysis of motor carriers with elevated crash histories based on federal safety data. This report identifies carriers with the highest severity scores within the 24-month monitoring period.
Understanding Carrier Risk Assessment
This analysis identifies motor carriers in Tennessee with elevated crash frequencies using a weighted severity scoring methodology. The severity score weights incidents by their human impact: fatal crashes receive the highest weight (10 points), followed by injury crashes (5 points), and tow-away incidents (1 point). This approach prioritizes carriers whose crashes resulted in the most serious outcomes.
Important context: A carrier's appearance on this list does not necessarily indicate negligence or poor safety practices. DOT-reportable crashes can occur through no fault of the commercial vehicle operator. Large fleet operators with more trucks and higher mileage will statistically experience more incidents than smaller carriers, even with equivalent safety performance on a per-mile basis.
Shippers, freight brokers, and insurers should use this data as one component of a comprehensive carrier vetting process. Additional factors to consider include the carrier's SMS percentiles, out-of-service rates, driver fitness scores, and whether crashes were determined to be preventable through FMCSA's DataQs review process.
Tennessee Carrier Landscape
NHTSA Safety Context
Major Corridors: I-40 (E-W), I-65 (N-S), I-24 (NW-SE)
How We Calculate Risk Rankings
Our risk ranking methodology uses a weighted severity scoring system designed to prioritize carriers whose crash histories indicate the greatest potential harm to public safety. Unlike simple crash counts, which treat all incidents equally, our severity score assigns different weights based on the human impact of each crash type. This approach reflects the reality that a carrier involved in multiple fatal crashes presents a fundamentally different risk profile than one with only minor tow-away incidents.
The formula assigns 10 points per fatal crash, 5 points per injury crash, and 1 point per tow-away crash. This weighting is consistent with the FMCSA's own approach to evaluating crash severity within the Safety Measurement System (SMS). The resulting score provides a single, comparable metric that accounts for both the frequency and severity of a carrier's crash history within the most recent 24-month federal monitoring period.
It is important to note several limitations of this approach. First, DOT-reportable crashes include incidents where the commercial vehicle may not have been at fault. A carrier rear-ended at a traffic light is included in the same dataset as a carrier that caused a rollover through negligent driving. The FMCSA's DataQs process allows carriers to challenge crash records they believe are inaccurate or non-preventable, but this process does not always result in records being removed.
Second, fleet size normalization is not applied to these rankings. Large national carriers operating thousands of trucks across millions of miles will statistically accumulate more crashes than small local operators, even with superior safety programs. For a more balanced assessment of individual carriers, we recommend viewing their complete safety profile where you can compare crash rates relative to fleet size, or use our carrier comparison tool for direct side-by-side analysis.
What You Can Do With This Data
- Shippers: Cross-reference carriers on your approved list. If a current partner appears in the top rankings, request their corrective action plan and consider additional monitoring.
- Freight Brokers: Use this data as part of your carrier vetting process. High severity scores should trigger enhanced due diligence before load assignment.
- Consumers: If you are hiring a moving company or other carrier, verify they do not appear on high-risk lists. Learn how to check a carrier's safety record.
- Insurance Professionals: State-level risk rankings support territorial rating analysis and portfolio risk assessment for commercial auto underwriting.
Top 50 High-Risk Carriers in Tennessee
Ranked by weighted severity score. Click carrier name for detailed safety report.
| Rank | Carrier Name | City | Trucks | Crashes | Fatal | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | FEDERAL EXPRESS CORPORATION USDOT: 86876 | MEMPHIS | 138,481 | 3123 | 85 | 11173 |
| #2 | WESTERN EXPRESS INC USDOT: 511412 | NASHVILLE | 3,332 | 612 | 16 | 1855 |
| #3 | US XPRESS INC USDOT: 303024 | CHATTANOOGA | 4,953 | 393 | 11 | 1376 |
| | ||||||
| #4 | AVERITT EXPRESS INC USDOT: 36684 | COOKEVILLE | 4,150 | 241 | 5 | 840 |
| #5 | SMYRNA READY MIX CONCRETE LLC USDOT: 1738904 | MURFREESBORO | 6,278 | 217 | 7 | 773 |
| #6 | FIRSTFLEET INC USDOT: 313891 | MURFREESBORO | 2,520 | 176 | 8 | 701 |
| #7 | D G LOGISTICS LLC USDOT: 852587 | GOODLETTSVILLE | 2,284 | 157 | 8 | 618 |
| #8 | COVENANT TRANSPORT LLC USDOT: 273818 | CHATTANOOGA | 816 | 164 | 4 | 601 |
| #9 | FEDEX GROUND PACKAGE SYSTEM INC USDOT: 265752 | MEMPHIS | 101,844 | 127 | 2 | 412 |
| #10 | PILOT TRAVEL CENTERS LLC USDOT: 91805 | KNOXVILLE | 1,279 | 122 | 2 | 392 |
| #11 | IMC LOGISTICS LLC USDOT: 292991 | COLLIERVILLE | 2,100 | 113 | 3 | 384 |
| #12 | SWEEPING CORPORATION OF AMERICA LLC USDOT: 638708 | HERMITAGE | 594 | 90 | 1 | 357 |
| #13 | VENTURE EXPRESS INC USDOT: 192068 | MURFREESBORO | 707 | 67 | 5 | 304 |
| #14 | OZARK MOTOR LINES INC USDOT: 96606 | MEMPHIS | 782 | 67 | 1 | 241 |
| #15 | BIG G EXPRESS INC USDOT: 580685 | SHELBYVILLE | 599 | 47 | 1 | 230 |
| #16 | LANDAIR TRANSPORT LLC USDOT: 241411 | GREENEVILLE | 953 | 81 | 1 | 229 |
| #17 | AUTOZONE TEXAS LLC USDOT: 288323 | MEMPHIS | 496 | 57 | 2 | 226 |
| #18 | DANNY HERMAN TRUCKING INC USDOT: 50467 | MOUNTAIN CITY | 506 | 50 | 5 | 214 |
| #19 | TITAN TRANSFER INC USDOT: 845505 | SHELBYVILLE | 579 | 44 | 1 | 178 |
| #20 | THE HT HACKNEY COMPANY USDOT: 342596 | KNOXVILLE | 719 | 50 | 1 | 176 |
| #21 | CMH TRANSPORT INC USDOT: 594023 | MARYVILLE | 411 | 39 | 3 | 160 |
| #22 | TRUGREEN LIMITED PARTNERSHIP USDOT: 342305 | MEMPHIS | 5,365 | 44 | 1 | 158 |
| #23 | ORGILL TRANSPORTATION COMPANY LLC USDOT: 86820 | COLLIERVILLE | 405 | 23 | 1 | 153 |
| #24 | MCKEE FOODS TRANSPORTATION LLC USDOT: 1025678 | COLLEGEDALE | 352 | 26 | 1 | 145 |
| #25 | GKD MANAGEMENT LP USDOT: 857474 | CRUMP | 320 | 39 | — | 124 |
| #26 | KEYSTONE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRIES INC USDOT: 778752 | ANTIOCH | 1,398 | 41 | 1 | 123 |
| #27 | TLD LOGISTICS SERVICES INC USDOT: 1820774 | KNOXVILLE | 495 | 20 | 3 | 115 |
| #28 | JNJ EXPRESS INC USDOT: 655796 | MEMPHIS | 389 | 25 | — | 114 |
| #29 | F2F TRANSPORT LLC USDOT: 239699 | CHATTANOOGA | 299 | 29 | 1 | 112 |
| #30 | HELENA AGRI-ENTERPRISES LLC USDOT: 86873 | COLLIERVILLE | 3,220 | 29 | 1 | 108 |
| #31 | ATOMIC TRANSPORT LLC USDOT: 2496911 | CHATTANOOGA | 699 | 39 | 1 | 102 |
| #32 | MAX TRANS LLC USDOT: 1188508 | HUMBOLDT | 285 | 26 | 3 | 100 |
| #33 | MCCORMICKS LLC USDOT: 2501201 | MURFREESBORO | 202 | 19 | 2 | 98 |
| #34 | TENNESSEE STEEL HAULERS LLC USDOT: 159317 | NASHVILLE | 526 | 29 | — | 98 |
| #35 | ASCEND TRANSPORTATION LLC USDOT: 439352 | JACKSON | 358 | 24 | 3 | 89 |
| #36 | TRANSCOR AMERICA LLC USDOT: 426551 | NASHVILLE | 249 | 3 | — | 88 |
| #37 | TRI-STATE TRUCK CENTER INC USDOT: 8039 | MEMPHIS | 148 | 19 | — | 82 |
| #38 | SA RECYCLING TRANSPORT LLC USDOT: 729506 | NASHVILLE | 476 | 15 | 1 | 73 |
| #39 | BARNHART CRANE AND RIGGING CO USDOT: 536 | MEMPHIS | 1,106 | 20 | 3 | 70 |
| #40 | WASTE CONNECTIONS OF TENNESSEE INC USDOT: 687437 | KNOXVILLE | 475 | 11 | 2 | 70 |
| #41 | LOUDON COUNTY TRUCKING LLC USDOT: 627698 | LOUDON | 222 | 24 | — | 69 |
| #42 | MCCORMICK TRUCKING INC USDOT: 229162 | MURFREESBORO | 71 | 12 | — | 67 |
| #43 | ROGERS GROUP INC USDOT: 264180 | NASHVILLE | 888 | 12 | — | 67 |
| #44 | TCW INC USDOT: 36777 | NASHVILLE | 320 | 27 | — | 62 |
| #45 | WEST TN EXPEDITING INC USDOT: 2146479 | RIPLEY | 170 | 17 | 1 | 62 |
| #46 | PFG TRANSCO INC USDOT: 35568 | LEBANON | 1 | 23 | — | 61 |
| #47 | HIGHWAY TRANSPORT CHEMICAL LLC USDOT: 41216 | KNOXVILLE | 1,301 | 21 | 1 | 61 |
| #48 | RUDOLPH FREIGHT SYSTEMS INC USDOT: 468962 | SOUTH FULTON | 125 | 12 | 2 | 61 |
| #49 | MID SOUTH SUPPLIERS LLC USDOT: 2387862 | ATOKA | 30 | 9 | 2 | 59 |
| #50 | TRC FREIGHT INC USDOT: 3650507 | CHATTANOOGA | 80 | 12 | — | 57 |
Methodology & Data Sources
Severity Score Calculation
The severity score is calculated as: (Fatal Crashes × 10) + (Injury Crashes × 5) + (Tow-Away Crashes × 1). This weighting prioritizes carriers whose incidents resulted in the most serious human consequences. The formula is consistent with FMCSA's approach to evaluating crash severity in the Safety Measurement System.
Data Period
Crash data reflects the 24-month federal monitoring period maintained in the Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS). This rolling window ensures rankings reflect current safety performance rather than historical incidents that may no longer be relevant to carrier operations.
Limitations
This analysis does not account for fleet size normalization, vehicle miles traveled, or fault determination. Large carriers operating extensive fleets will naturally appear more frequently than smaller operators. Users should review individual carrier profiles for complete safety assessments.
Disclaimer
Rankings are provided for informational purposes only. Inclusion on this list should not be interpreted as an indication of carrier negligence or unsafe operations. Users should conduct comprehensive due diligence before making carrier selection decisions.