Carrier
A carrier is the moving company that physically picks up, transports, and delivers the customer's shipment — using its own trucks, employees, and equipment.
Carriers are the operators that actually perform the move. They hold the federal USDOT and MC numbers, employ the crews, own (or lease) the trucks, and bear the liability for the shipment. The opposite of a carrier is a broker, which sells the move but doesn't perform it — brokers pass the job to a third-party carrier and take a margin.
Most consumer complaints in the moving industry are about brokers who oversell, then assign the job to a low-quality or unlicensed carrier. Hiring directly with a licensed carrier is the safer path. Boston Best Rate Movers is a carrier — every move is performed by our own full-time W-2 employees on our own trucks, never subcontracted or brokered out.
Related Terms
Broker (Moving Broker)
A moving broker is a company that sells a moving job to a customer but does not perform the move — the broker assigns the job to a third-party carrier and takes a margin.
USDOT Number
A USDOT number is a unique identifier issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to commercial vehicles that transport cargo or passengers across state lines or within certain states.
MC Number (Motor Carrier Number)
An MC number is a separate federal operating authority issued by the FMCSA to motor carriers that transport regulated commodities — including household goods — in interstate commerce.
Have More Questions About Your Move?
Talk to a real person — no chatbots, no high-pressure sales. We'll explain anything in the moving process you want to understand.