R.l. Polk & Co

R.L. Polk & Co., doing business as Publishers Collection Service, is a for-profit automotive data and analytics firm that operates as a prime contractor supplying vehicle registration datasets, fleet statistics, and specialized automotive intelligence to federal agencies without utilizing small business set-asides. The company is a subsidiary of IHS Global Inc., headquartered in Southfield, Michigan, and competes on full-and-open contracting based on specialized expertise rather than set-aside positioning.

Polk's federal capability footprint centers on vehicle registration data, vehicle identification number (VIN) research, electric vehicle population datasets, vehicle mileage analyses, and plate-to-VIN conversion API services. Representative prime work includes a $255,102 delivery order from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued September 30, 2026, for 2025 vehicle datasets supporting NHTSA's National Level Vehicle Data/Statistics program; a $2.21 million purchase order from the Department of Transportation's Immediate Office of the Secretary (awarded March 9, 2024, through March 8, 2029) for comprehensive electric vehicle registration datasets and analytical services; a $1.15 million purchase order from the Energy Information Administration (awarded September 12, 2024, through December 31, 2028) for a site-wide license to the National Vehicle Population Profile dataset containing vehicle registration information and odometer readings; and a $1.08 million purchase order from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (awarded March 31, 2024, through March 30, 2029) for automotive data across option years.

Customer concentration is extreme and NHTSA-dominant. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration accounts for 61 of the vendor's 148 prime awards (41% by count) and $25.6 million of $36.8 million in combined potential value (70% by dollars). The top five customer agencies by potential value account for 91% of combined value: NHTSA leads at $25.6 million, followed by the Department of Transportation's Immediate Office of the Secretary ($2.9 million), the Energy Information Administration ($2.2 million), the Census Bureau ($1.5 million), and the Bureau of Economic Analysis ($1.3 million). The Environmental Protection Agency, Bureau of Diplomatic Security, and sixteen other agencies round out a customer base of seventeen distinct federal agencies, but their combined contribution is marginal relative to NHTSA's footprint.

Polk places the plurality of its task orders under three single-award or limited-competition IDCs with NHTSA: Indefinite Delivery Contract 693JJ922D000005 (13 task orders, $3.4 million combined potential value), with an ultimate completion date of April 13, 2027; Indefinite Delivery Contract DTNH2216D00033 (16 task orders, $2 million combined potential value); and Indefinite Delivery Contract DTNH2211D00235 (18 task orders, $1.7 million combined potential value). These vehicles anchor Polk's federal revenue stream and represent direct, recurring relationships with NHTSA that do not require competitive recompete against other vendors.

Activity has declined sharply over the past five years. Polk recorded seven awards in 2022, four in 2023, seven in 2024, two in 2025, and three in 2026 (through mid-September). The recompete cliff exposes material risk: seven awards with ultimate completion dates in the next twenty-four months carry a combined potential value of $1.2 million, including the April 13, 2027, expiration of the primary NHTSA IDC (693JJ922D000005) and related completion dates across the other two top-performing NHTSA vehicles. Polk does not maintain a subcontractor footprint — all 148 awards are prime awards with no identified sub-awards — and therefore lacks secondary revenue streams or teaming relationships to buffer the concentration risk and activity decline visible in recent years.