When the name on the truck is not the company that dispatched it

Leasing is how a large share of the industry runs

An owner-operator owns (or finances) the tractor and leases it to an authorized carrier. During the lease, 49 CFR 376.12 generally requires the authorized carrier to have exclusive possession, control, and use of the equipment, and to assume complete responsibility for its operation. The carrier's name and USDOT number go on the doors. The owner-operator may still be an independent contractor for tax and some employment purposes. Those are different questions.

After the lease ends, identification has to come off the truck. If a crash happens while old markings are still on the doors, you will see two companies in the photos. Pull both records. The lease, the dispatch records, and the ELD login usually decide which company was operating the truck that day.

Trailers lie more often than tractors

Trailers are rented, interchanged, and dropped. A Walmart trailer on a Schneider tractor is a normal interchange, not proof that either company is uninvolved or solely involved. Photograph both, and get the trailer interchange or the bill of lading. The operating carrier is still the company responsible for the power unit and the driver on that trip.

Letters go to every name you can support

Send the preservation letter to the USDOT holder on the tractor, any lessor or owner-operator you can identify, the broker on the load if there is one, and the insurer on the federal filing. You can narrow later. You cannot recreate an overwritten ECM after the truck goes back to work.