Trucking business loan leads come from FMCSA carrier records, UCC filings and calls to owners.
- Filter FMCSA records by registration age and fleet size
- Read UCC filings for existing equipment liens
- Call owners
One CallingAgency campaign made 18,600+ calls to trucking company owners over 4 months. It produced 2,600+ conversations, a 14.0% connect rate.
This guide helps MCA brokers, equipment finance reps and alternative lenders pick carriers, match products, build lists and reach owners.
FMCSA is the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the agency that registers trucking companies. UCC is the Uniform Commercial Code. MCA is a merchant cash advance.
Which Trucking Companies Are Worth Calling?
The best trucking companies to call are active interstate for-hire carriers with fleet sizes that match your loan product. Carrier status shows if the company still runs. Interstate authority shows it hauls freight for pay. Fleet size shows which loan to pitch.
| Carrier signal | What it tells you | Lead use |
| New carrier | May need a truck | Equipment financing |
| 1–2 trucks | Small capital need | Truck financing |
| 3+ trucks | Higher operating needs | Working capital |
| Older carrier | More funding options | Term loan or line of credit |
The FMCSA census listed 2,243,054 active carriers on September 26, 2026. FMCSA coded 707,045 as interstate carriers, or 31.5%.
A power unit is a truck or tractor that pulls a load. Carriers with 3+ trucks have payroll and driver expenses, so a revolving line of credit fits.
Operating authority is FMCSA’s permission to haul freight across state lines. An MC number shows a carrier holds it. The census has no authority grant date, so we use the add date as carrier age.
An interstate filter drops 1,530,898 active intrastate carriers. They can still borrow, but we focus on interstate carriers.
Match Carrier Segments to Loan Products
New carriers usually fit equipment financing. Older carriers with larger fleets may fit lines of credit, term loans or U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) financing. Time in business, fleet size and credit profile decide the match.
Clarify Capital lists 6 months in business, $10,000 in monthly revenue and a 550 credit score as its trucking minimums. Lendio lists 6 months, $8,000 and a 600 score.
These are each company’s criteria, not an industry rule. Clarify also says bank approvals and SBA loans often need 2+ years in business.
| Carrier segment | Potential loan products | Why |
| Registered under 6 months | Equipment financing, SBA Microloan | Fails most alternative lender time-in-business rules |
| 6–24 months, 1–2 trucks | Equipment financing, small working capital | Meets alt lender minimums, thin credit file |
| 6–24 months, credit near 550 | Equipment financing, invoice financing | The truck or invoice secures the deal |
| 2+ years, 3–10 trucks | Line of credit, term loan, equipment | Opens bank and SBA options |
| 2+ years, 11+ trucks | Term loan, line of credit, SBA 7(a) | Larger payroll, fuel, maintenance costs |
These segments are lead-generation filters, not lender approval rules.
A carrier with 1 truck and over 6 months in business can use both products. Clarify says many owners use equipment financing to buy their first trucks. It says a line of credit eases cash flow in slow seasons.
New Authorities Under 6 Months
New authorities are carriers registered within the last 6 months. They fit equipment financing, not MCA leads. Most working capital rules say no to them for now. They can still buy a truck because the truck secures the loan. SBA Microloans, which go up to $50,000, are their other option.
Factored Carriers
Start with the UCC filing when a carrier uses a factor. If the factor filed on accounts or all assets, it may get paid from the receivables first. The MCA funder needs those same receivables, so the deal can stall in underwriting.
The same carrier can still get equipment financing on a truck the factor does not cover.
How to Build a Trucking Lead List From FMCSA Data
Build a custom trucking list from FMCSA data with four filters. Keep active carriers, interstate for-hire carriers, recent MCS-150 updates and matching power unit counts. The MCS-150 is the registration form every carrier must update with FMCSA every 2 years.
- Keep carriers with an active status. Skip inactive and pending records.
- Keep interstate carriers marked “authorized for hire.” These haul freight for customers and earn revenue a lender can underwrite.
- Keep carriers with an MCS-150 dated in the last 24 months. An older date suggests the carrier stopped reporting and maybe stopped running.
- Keep the power unit range that fits your product. Use 1–2 for truck financing and 3+ for lines of credit.
What a Trucking Loan Lead List Should Include
Add these fields to every row. Each one maps to a filter or a product choice, so you know what to pitch before the first call.
- DOT number
- Legal name
- Owner name
- Phone
- Power units
- Add date
- MCS-150 date
- UCC status
The DOT number is the carrier’s federal ID. UCC status shows a live filing. The census has no revenue field, so check $8,000–$10,000 minimums on the call. Refresh weekly with new add dates to catch new authorities. Confirm the number reaches the owner, not an office line.
Add UCC Filings to Spot Existing Equipment Liens
UCC filings show which carriers financed equipment or pledged receivables. Match the filing to the carrier’s legal name and check if it’s still active. A live filing shows which lender holds the lien.
Under UCC 9-515 a financing statement lapses after 5 years unless continued, so a live filing may be older.
Can You Reach Truck Owners by Phone?
Yes. In two CallingAgency campaigns, trucking owners had a 14.0% connect rate versus 15.3% for other small business owners. The gap was just 1.3 points. For a lender, the phone reaches trucking owners about as well as other small business owners.
CallingAgency campaign data shows 18,600+ calls to trucking company owners produced 2,600+ conversations in 4 months. That is a 14.0% connect rate. A 5-month CallingAgency business funding campaign reached 2,750+ conversations from 18,000+ calls, or 15.3%.
The trucking campaign sold investment and partnership, not loans. The client was Barbs’ Angel Investing, a firm that backs freight trucking businesses. The other campaign, for Elite 1 Finance, offered MCA, lines of credit, equipment financing and SBA loans.
What the Campaign Numbers Show
CallingAgency campaign data shows the trucking campaign booked 47 meetings from 2,600+ conversations. That is about 1 meeting for every 55 conversations. It works out to 396 calls per meeting and about 12 meetings a month.
| Metric | Trucking owners (Barbs’ Angel) | Business funding (Elite 1) |
| Length | 4 months | 5 months |
| Calls | 18,600+ | 18,000+ |
| Conversations | 2,600+ | 2,750+ |
| Connect rate | 14.0% | 15.3% |
| Meetings booked | 47 | 79 |
| Calls per meeting | 396 | 228 |
The funding campaign booked more meetings per call. The offers differed, so the gap may reflect the offer. It doesn’t prove truckers book less. Once an owner picks up, start with their situation, like a truck purchase or a slow-paying broker. Name a product after the owner confirms the need.
Buying Trucking Loan Leads vs Building Your Own
Buying trucking loan leads gives you a ready source. Building your own list gives you more control over carrier filters. The better choice depends on lead cost, exclusivity, data quality and your team’s calling capacity.
Bought leads start faster, but many vendors sell the same lead to several buyers. A list you build from FMCSA records belongs to you alone, and you filter it to your product.
| Source | Speed to launch | Shared with other buyers? | Filtered to your product? |
| Bought trucking leads | Faster | Often | Depends on the vendor |
| List built from FMCSA records | Requires list building | No | Yes |
Some of those vendors resell the same FMCSA new-authority records covered above.
Ask trucking vendors about the origin and exclusivity of their business loan leads. Then test both sources and compare cost per funded deal.
Is It Legal to Call Truckers From FMCSA Records?
Calling trucking companies from FMCSA records can be legal, but the calling method matters. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), Do Not Call rules and consent rules can apply to business calls, especially calls to mobile numbers.
- Scrub every number against the National Do Not Call Registry.
- Treat every cell number as TCPA-covered, whatever the lead source.
- Get prior express written consent before any autodialed call or text to a cell.
Manual and autodialed calling can face different rules. Check the rules for your method. This is not legal advice.
Does TCPA Apply to Trucking Owner Cell Phones?
Yes. An owner-operator may list a personal cell phone. TCPA autodialer rules protect cell numbers, even for business calls. Damages run $500 per violation, or up to $1,500 if willful or knowing, under 47 U.S.C. 227(b)(3).
Want trucking owners booked on your calendar without building the list yourself? CallingAgency sets business loan appointments with verified owners, and every lead stays exclusive to your team.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I get trucking loan leads for free?
You can get them free from the FMCSA carrier census on the U.S. Department of Transportation data portal. Filter by active status, for-hire authority, MCS-150 date and power units. The file lists 2,243,054 active carriers. Verify owners before you call.
Are new authority carriers good loan leads?
Yes, for equipment financing. No, for working capital. Clarify Capital and Lendio list 6 months in business as a minimum for trucking products. A carrier under 6 months old can finance a truck. It can apply for an SBA Microloan.
Do trucking companies that factor still take MCA offers?
Sometimes, but read the factor’s UCC filing first. If it covers accounts or all assets, the factor may get paid first from receivables. An MCA needs that cash. Equipment financing on a truck the factor doesn’t cover is still possible.
What fields should a trucking lead list include?
Include DOT number, legal name, owner name, phone, power units, add date, MCS-150 date and any live UCC filing. The DOT number is the carrier’s federal ID. Each field maps to a filter or product choice before the first call.
How many calls does it take to book a trucking meeting?
In one CallingAgency campaign aimed at trucking company owners, it took 396 calls per booked meeting. That came from 18,600+ calls and 47 meetings over 4 months. The campaign offered investment, not loans, so treat 396 as a starting benchmark.
