Import a carrier CSV without losing data.

Before you start

Packs arrive as .csv.gz files: a CSV compressed with gzip. Extract the file with your archive tool before importing it. Try the whole process with the free sample first; it has the same 44 columns as the paid packs.

Some columns look like numbers but are identifiers. Import dot_number, mc_number, phy_zip, mail_zip, phone, cell_phone and fax as text. Otherwise spreadsheets strip the leading zeros from ZIP codes and can rewrite long numbers.

Excel

1. Open a blank workbook and choose Data, then From Text/CSV, and select the extracted file.
2. Choose Transform Data, set the identifier and phone columns listed above to Text, then Close & Load.
3. Save as an Excel workbook so the column types are kept.

An Excel worksheet holds 1,048,576 rows. Every state pack fits; the nationwide file does not. For all states at once, load it into the Data Model or a database instead of a sheet.

Google Sheets

Choose File, then Import, upload the extracted CSV, and turn off “Convert text to numbers, dates, and formulas.” Google Sheets allows 10 million cells per spreadsheet, which at 44 columns is about 227,000 rows: enough for most single states, but not the largest states or the nationwide file.

CRM import

• Map dot_number to your CRM’s external or unique ID, so a later file updates the same companies instead of duplicating them.
• Map legal_name to the company name and keep dba_name as a secondary name; many carriers trade under the DBA.
• Bring in email, phone and cell_phone as separate fields, with email_flag alongside so you can exclude shared filing-agent addresses.
• Keep phy_state, phy_city and phy_zip for territory routing, and power_units, authority_class, op_scope and cargo_segments for segmentation. Cargo segments are separated by “|”; split them into a multi-select field.

Fresh lead exports

Fresh leads exports add first_seen, the date of the drop that first published the carrier, and feed_events, which says why: a new registration, a reactivation or an authority grant. authority_grant_date and census_add_date give the dates FMCSA recorded. Exports for overlapping date ranges include the same carriers on purpose, so import with your CRM’s update-or-create option keyed on dot_number.

Before outreach

• Check mcs150_date: contact details are only as recent as the carrier’s last MCS-150 filing.
• Review email_flag: an address shared by many carriers usually belongs to a filing service, not the carrier.
• Run your suppression lists and verify addresses before a campaign.

Commercial email to businesses is still covered by the CAN-SPAM Act: the FTC says the law “makes no exception for business-to-business email.” Use accurate sender details and honest subject lines, say the message is an advertisement, include a valid physical postal address, and honor opt-out requests within 10 business days (FTC guide).

Calls and texts need more care, because many owner-operators list a personal mobile number. The FCC’s rules prohibit autodialed or prerecorded calls to mobile numbers without the called party’s prior express consent, and telephone solicitations to residential subscribers whose numbers are on the National Do Not Call Registry (47 CFR 64.1200). A public FMCSA record is not consent. This is general information, not legal advice; check the rules for your channel with counsel.

More in guides

• Download FMCSA carrier data yourself.
• FMCSA Motus: are MC numbers going away?
• New authority trucking leads compared: TruckerDB and the alternatives.
• Fresh leads or a full company list?