'We cannot hold out long': Surprise Motus reclassification threatens small Illinois flatbedder

Vasile Sorocean, president of Carol Stream, Illinois-based Dynamic MD, found out Tuesday, Oct. 27, that his flatbed and step deck company was a hazmat carrier, too. Except that it wasn't. And it still isn't.

But there it was, right there in Motus, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) much-maligned registration system: Sorocean's company had been inexplicably reclassified from general freight to hazardous materials. On that same screen, Sorocean's 13-year-old asset-based company was flagged as "Inactive – Involuntary Suspension."

The administrative reclassification triggered a higher liability insurance threshold, raising the carrier's minimum requirement to $1 million. Because Dynamic MD isn't actually a hazmat hauler, its current $750,000 limit on file, which remains active, was deemed insufficient, and the operation was grounded.

"We have not been able to book a single shipment since this happened. As a small company, we cannot hold out long," Sorocean said, adding that he was never notified by FMCSA that there was, or even could be, a problem. "It would have been right for us to be informed. You can’t just put 50 people out of work overnight with no communication."

This story was originally published by CCJ. Read the full story at CCJ →