All Plans
If you built a list and got fewer carriers than you expected, that's usually one of a handful of things: your radius is smaller than you think, the active-only filter is hiding inactives, your area is rural with naturally fewer carriers, or your filters are stacking. Here's how to diagnose each one.
The Five Most Common Causes #
Radius too small
A 5-mile radius from your clinic might only cover a square mile or two of actual operations — especially in spread-out cities.
Active-only filter
By default, lists exclude Inactive, Not-Authorized, and Out-of-Service carriers. That's the right default, but it cuts the raw count.
Rural area coverage
Some regions just have fewer registered carriers per square mile. A 30-mile radius in Wyoming finds 50 leads where the same radius in Atlanta finds 5,000.
Filters stacking
Adding multiple criteria (e.g. fleet size 10+ and safety rating Conditional and within 5 miles) narrows the count fast.
Geocoding precision
Carriers without precise geocoding fall back to ZIP-centroid coordinates. They still appear, but their distance might be slightly off from reality.
List hasn't refreshed yet
New lists populate immediately, but new matches from FMCSA syncs are added on your plan's refresh cadence (weekly Scout, daily Engage+).
How to Diagnose #
Check your radius
Open the list's settings. Radius is in miles. If you're on Scout, max is 15; on Engage+, max is 50.
Look at the filter row
Scout view shows a filter bar at the top of every list. If filters are active, the lead count reflects filtered results, not total.
Try a wider radius
Edit the list and bump radius to your plan's maximum. Compare the new count to the old — the gap tells you how much radius mattered.
Toggle off active-only
If your filter row has a status filter, remove it to include all status codes (Inactive, Not Authorized, etc.) and see the raw total.
Cross-check on the map
Open Map View (Engage+). The cluster bubbles tell you exactly where carriers are concentrated — you'll see whether your radius is reaching the density.
Compare to a state-level search
Use Scout's state search to see total active carriers in your state. Divide by area to estimate your area's share.
What Counts Are Realistic? #
Numbers feel too low? You might just live in a less-dense area
An examiner in central Ohio with a 30-mile radius might see 1,200 carriers. The same 30-mile radius in central Wyoming might only see 80. Both numbers can be correct — it's a population-density artifact, not a bug.
If Your Radius Is Limiting You #
Other Things to Try #
- Add a second clinic location if you have one — each clinic anchors its own search, doubling your coverage area
- Switch the list's origin from your primary clinic to a different ZIP code that's central to a busier carrier area
- Remove or relax filters — especially fleet-size minimums and badge requirements that might be too aggressive
- Build a second list with different criteria to compare counts side-by-side
