Peer-cohort grading
ProHRHQ's grading method. Each carrier is compared against a peer cohort of similarly sized fleets — typically the carriers within a narrow power-unit band around the subject's fleet size — and graded A through F on the resulting comparison. Distinct from the federal FMCSA SMS percentile, which compares each carrier against the full national population.
Why it matters
A 30-truck regional fleet and a 3,000-truck transcontinental carrier face different operational realities. National-percentile scoring places them against the same reference distribution; peer-cohort scoring places each against the closest comparison set. Shippers comparing similarly sized options get a more useful read; carriers trying to understand their position get a more honest one.
Where it appears in a Hoffman Report
The grade at the top of a Hoffman Report (A, B, C, etc.) is the peer-cohort grade. The Safety record section's table shows the cohort average for each BASIC and the carrier's position against that cohort. The cohort itself (size, definition) is named explicitly on the report.
Related terms
A Hoffman Report grade is ProHRHQ analysis, not an FMCSA safety rating or official government determination. The federal SMS percentile is also visible on the FMCSA SMS site and remains the authoritative federal signal.