Definition of Private Carrier for MOTs Exception
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration · Dec 30, 2005 · Reference No. 05-0271
Interprets: 49 CFR § 173.6
Reggie’s quick take
Someone asked PHMSA to correct and reissue two earlier letters on the Materials of Trade exception in § 173.6. PHMSA says a company delivering and installing a purchased swimming pool system is a private motor carrier under the HMR, per 49 CFR 390.5. It also says a company hauling for a third party is not a private carrier. The exception covers highway transport by a private vehicle supporting a business that is not itself motor transport, not aircraft.
Written by AI (Claude) on Oct 22, 2026. Robots make mistakes and leave things out, so the letter below is what counts. Not legal advice.
This responds to your October 5, 2005 letter requesting additional clarification on the applicability of the Materials of Trade (MOTs) exception in § 173.6 of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180). Specifically, you request that we correct errors and reissue two letters of interpretation regarding the applicability of the MOTs exception.
In the case of the July 9, 2004 letter, addressed to Mr. Steven King of Mobility Products Unlimited (Ref. No.04-0145), Ms. Mitchell's statement that "A private carrier is a carrier who transports the business's own products and does not provide such transportation service to other businesses" is correct. That statement does not contradict the definition in 49 CFR 390.5, stating that a private carrier "means a person who provides transportation of property or passengers, by commercial motor vehicle, and is not a for- hire motor carrier." A company transporting a purchased swimming pool system for delivery and installation is a private motor carrier for purposes of the HMR.
In the case of the May 18, 2005 letter, addressed to Mr. Randy Hill of Chemtran Services USA, Inc. (Ref. No. 05-0096), the response by Mr. Gale that, based on the information in Mr. Hill's letter, his company is not a private motor carrier is correct. The company is providing transportation services to a third party. In addition, the MOTs exception is intended for use by highway mode by a private motor vehicle in direct support a principal business that is other than transportation by motor vehicle, not for transportation by aircraft.
A letter of interpretation applies the regulations to the facts the requester described. It isn’t a regulation and isn’t legal advice. The agency’s copy.