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January 7, 2016 3:50 PM, EST

Regional freight carrier Land Air Express of New England was allowed to restart operations Jan. 7 after reaching an agreement with federal regulators to address safety issues.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration had declared the company unfit to operate and ordered the Williston, Vermont-based less-than-truckload carrier to cease operating Dec. 29.

At the time, company President William Spencer told Transport Topics that the company was “not shutting down” but declined to comment further on what led to the federal action.

FMCSA officials said the company was notified of a “proposed unsatisfactory” safety rating after a compliance review in late October, and the company had 60 days to submit a corrective action plan acceptable to the U.S. Department of Transportation or to appeal and contest the proposed safety rating. “That window closed Dec. 29, 2015,” agency spokesman Duane DeBruyne said Jan. 4.

FMSCA said it lifted the out-of-service order after seeing “evidence of actions taken by the company to correct deficiencies in its safety management system.” The company’s safety rating was upgraded to “conditional,” and the agency said it would “closely monitor” the carrier’s safety performance for the next two years.

The specific safety compliance issues have not been disclosed.

Eric Foster, senior safety supervisor for Land Air Express of New England, said the company has been working with a third-party safety consultant to address deficiencies and asked members of The Reliance Network, a group of seven regional LTL carriers that exchange freight, to help transport shipments for the company while its operations were suspended.

“We’re doing everything we can,” Foster said in a telephone interview Jan. 6.

Land Air Express of New England operates a fleet of 285 tractors, 45 straight trucks and 581 trailers, according to FMCSA registration documents. A summary of activities for the past 24 months shows 151 violations resulting from 176 inspections. The company reported 49 crashes during that time period, with 17 involving injuries, 32 involving tow-aways and none involving fatalities.

The company’s out-of-service rates for vehicles and drivers are both better than national averages — 20.1% for Land Air versus 20.7% industrywide for vehicles, and 2.8% versus 5.5% for drivers, according to FMCSA figures. However, the out-of-service rate of 18.8% for hazmat violations was significantly higher than the national average of 4.5%.

In 2014, FMCSA issued 878 out-of-service orders to carriers with unsatisfactory safety ratings, up from 771 in 2013.

Founded in 1968 by Fred Spencer as Allied Air Freight, the company made several acquisitions and expanded its coverage to provide same-day and next-day freight service throughout New England, New York and New Jersey.

The company adopted its current name in 1990 and operates 13 terminals. It is unrelated to two companies that have similar names: Land Air Express Inc. in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and Landair Inc. in Greeneville, Tennessee.��