The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is holding a public listening session on broker transparency and wants to hear from you. Though the forum is open to the public, only those who register ahead of time will be allowed to speak or even attend the event. So register now!
FMCSA has opened up the comments section of the federal register website asking for input on broker transparency. But even though that process is still ongoing, they are also holding a public listening session and seem to be making it unnecessarily difficult for people to be heard.
The listening session was announced last week. The public was told that they would need to register for the event ahead of time, but there was no way to register. Just days before the event is set to be held on October 28th, FMCSA has posted an EventBrite link which will allow people to register. Only those who sign up through this service will be sent links to attend.
“FMCSA would like to hear from members of the public on their views on the regulation of property carrier brokers in general, and on three pending petitions concerning specific property carrier broker regulation issues,” reads the Eventbrite notice. “This meeting does not pertain to broker or freight forwarder minimum financial responsibility matters.”
The online public listening session will be held on Wednesday, October 28, 2020 between 10:00 – 11:30 PDT.
The Brokers make it hard to make a living they drive the rates down !!!! They should be only able to take a certain percentage!! They take 3 to 5 hundred dollars off of a load plus their 10% Then you the ones who charge 29% of what the load pays making it difficult to make ends meet !!!!
I started to do my owner operator but had very difficult to get load from broker they ask for all paperwork you provided them all they accepted your carrier packages then you made call to book your load they ignored you some time took an hour waiting for they answer then tell you to hold just one minute and hand off.
Some of broker give you load but they do not give you the BOL then when you try to factor your load they made you go to dead end( no money).
Try to use different broker bro do not stick to one broker bro, try to research until you got a good one broker bro. How it work bro if you deliver your load without a bol bro? Maybe you used double or triple broker or party bro and then the result dead end bro
Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad to see anything being done in this regard.
That being said, it still feels like this is merely a dog and pony show to say ‘hey, we opened it to the public!’ and shut down any public outcry later when they change nothing.
It just goes to show just how in-bed they all are with each other up at the top, while the folks who do all of the doing aren’t even allowed to properly assemble in a way to be truly heard.
*smh*
Until the day comes where all truckers unite and truly shut things down to make them all listen for real, I fear we will never be truly represented or see any real relief from all of the burdensome regulation.
I agree 👍
I have said for years that brokers are reaping off truckers and the customers by over charging the customers and low balling the drivers on rates. it’s time congress clean up the disclosures that are in the carrier package contract’s that are hindering the drivers from revealing the whole rate or customers rate sheet agreement. The driver are the one doing most all the work on a load. The small independent operators like myself have all the upkeep and maintenance to up keep on our equipment. The small independent operators like myself sometimes are getting 40%, 50% of the load if their are unable to negotiate decent rate.
Where exactly is this public speaking going to be held at ? address please and thank you,hopefully truck parking space is available for 70′ vehicle nearby,another issue in America Volumes of books can be made on.
Should we understand by this that this publication is the only one in America officially designated as the divine voice of the F.M.C.S.A. to us, more mortals? Because there has been no mention of this “event” on any other news and or media outlet! Thank goodness I’m subscribed to this supernatural publication!
When talking about brokers only one word comes to mind, thieves.
Rip off ,liars, greed,
Los brokers no pagan biem. No es posible , que cientos de camioneros estén perdiendo sus camiones , porque los brokers y algunas compañías le estén robando de lo poco que ganan . Los brokers son intermediarios . Y se embolsan la mayor parte del dinero. Los camioneros están en extrema pobreza . El gobierno debe poner límites a estos timadores. Yo estoy en carretera por más de 12 Años, y vivo al día … abajo los brokers.!!!
You damn right theives and BIG Liars¡!!!¡!!!!!¡!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Government won’t do a damn thing about it. They regulate the HELL out of us. They SCARED of the DAMN BLOOD SUCKING BROKERS.
I would like to see original bill of shipment so I can make a decision what I would charge to haul it
There should be a set margin of profit that a broker can have . Example 1 %
Its almost a set standard when you lease a truck on to a company by percent .
Brokers taking most percent leaves Truckers to break laws (log books, out law rules) so that Owners and drivers can try and recoupe the losses that the broker hid from them.
There should be NO LIMIT set on what anyone can make and that includes you, me and brokers. Why do you dumb dumbs agree to haul a load of freight for a amount of money that YOU agreed too? If it doesn’t pay enough then don’t agree to haul it. You jokers crying and calling brokers scum when you’re the one who agreed to haul the load for what was offered.
James you are SPOT ON. Government regulation is not the answer you guys!!! Educate yourselves on negotiation tactics, learn the business of finding loads that work! It’s so Disappointing to see truckers turning to the FMCSA to “save them” from brokers …. Imagine if the FMCSA Proposed capping Trucking rates at $1.29/mile.. You’d rightfully be freaking out. It’s not a crime to make money.
I absolutely agree James.
James,
Agreed with you on 100%.Name me the business/shipper/ who is willing to pay for freight more than it is necessary .No one. If trucker company agreed to haul it for $1 per mile ,who will pay $3 ??? If I am a shipper- NEVER.
The most “owner ops” who crying about brokers performance don’t even know their operation cost…
Amen to that
Scumbags.
They make more than the drivers and all they do is make a phone call. I speak for thousands of people who say thats a problem.
So when or why aren’t you a broker???
I love that people think its just a phone call. Sometimes its 100 phone calls. Have you ever tried making sales cold calls to 30 companies a day to try to GET the freight and then make an additional 30 calls to try to cover that load. and then make sure all appts are good cuz god forbid you don’t make one and the driver doesn’t make one, and then cries and demands a TONU or detention. Or when you have a load covered and then the truck cancels on you because of whatever excuse they have, then you gotta place another 30 phone calls to find another truck. Pay for a TMS system, onboarding system, our insurance, our insurance monitoring partnerships, accounting/payment platforms. I have respect for those who have had experience on both sides of the table before saying that brokers are scum and liars. And before you say anything, I run both, a broker and a trucking company. Both sides are hard for their own reasons. and there are baskets full of bad apples on both sides but don’t lump them all together. Just saying.
No one should count someone elses money.
If you had the chance to make a extravagant amount of money off a single load you know would like that.
What this 2020 year has proved is that brokers do NOT control the rates.
Carriers do. And when idiot carriers give offers below $1.50 a mile. Well it’s not the brokers fault you idiots are cheapp…..??????
Ridiculous.
We would not need transparency if you kept your rates where they should be.
But no idiots drop their rates to stupid low and than bitch and complain when broker is making %25 of the load. well no shit.
The government also needs to regulate the companies paying a percentage of loads. These companies paying a percentage are skimming of the top as well as the brokers. Once a load is booked it should be time stamped and sent directly to you. O/O have extensive expenses to move freight from all of the government regulations. ALL the truck drivers (O/O, company) needs to stop driving for about a week……see how much the country functions that way. In order to get what we want ….we have to unite.
Brokers should be required to give honest amounts on loads! There are many honest brokers available to Independent contractors!
Drivers receive minimum pay for hauling freight. When a broker is involved and he takes 20 to 35 percent or more from that load pay, the driver is left with only enough to pay for fuel. They work for free basically . Waiting for broker loads is free work also. All states have minimum wage laws but being federally regulated drivers don’t apply to that concept. They are the cause of driver shortage. Long hours for no pay is nobody wants. Slavery comes to my mind. They sit at home on their computers phishing like a scammer does. Yes they are thieves and liars. There ain’t shit a driver can do about it or them at all. They say if it doesn’t pay dont haul the freight. That’s bullshit because all driving companies force their drivers to take broker loads. Better for companies to get their fuel paid for while driver works for free. Drivers choice is work for free or get fired for refusing loads. Slavery again comes to mind. Do what trucking company’s and brokers tell you or their will be punishment . 70 hours plus no home time at all. Todays world anybody can drive a truck. Driver is forced to be law abiding professional when working with all thieves and liars. Where is the justice in that.
I have to agree with James, however, they’re lots of truckers that gotten themselves into a bind with monthly payments of overhead. These folks have to keep a cash flow just to hang on even if loose money on a haul and are hoping to make it back on the next one ( good luck with that). Most brokers won’t post actual weight of the load , dimensions and exactly where pick up is and drop off is. Ends up a 350 mi haul is more like 425 mi, of course at the same price. What loads that I’ve found out about the cost of transportation,clearly shows that brokers are holding 25-40 % for themselves. Seems to be a lot for what overhead and risk they’re taking? I think that it should be possible that prices could be made available showing costs. Or better yet, shippers deal directly with trucks and cut out the middle man. How hard is it to show proof of authority and insurance?
So you have to sign up and register to speak? Is that because it’s rigged and there only be broker lobbyists speaking?
James hit the nail on the head. The only thing I would like to see is the customer’s paid amount at the end of the load. I want to know how far off that number I was.
Any broker who complains about being transparent goes down the list of people I would like to create a relationship with.
I can’t tell the FMCSA what I think of brokers. I stopped using that kind of language back in 1998. I don’t care to spend all day in confession. I had one try to offer me a load out of Pa. to Miami Fl. for 84 cents a mile, which requires tolls on both ends and a terrible rate coming out of Fl. It baffles me how they even feel comfortable asking something so absurd.
Alot of time broker’s keep us from making good money.they. want us drivers to work with cheap pay. Because we don’t know what the shipper is paying.
There’s anough money here in America that we all have a good life. Till we die. It’s not cool at all.
I know for a fact a retired agent for Landstar booked loads from shippers an he would post it on Landstar board an skim off the top 5 -6 hundred per load . so don’t tell me the dam broker are transparent .they are make money off of us with no investment . we are trying too make a living with so much invested. fmcsa an brokers can go to HELL….!!!!!
Just as the Federal Agency was able to create Electronic Log Book, we must force them to create a Federal Electronic Standardized Truck GPS Route System in which all Brokers, Carries, shippers and private industry in general must enter pickup and delivery addresses so that we, justly, get paid for the actual miles drove!…Its a must!..we been getting robbed for decades!.. It has to be LAW!
Total transparency is always for all parties involved.