The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has received multiple petitions regarding freight broker regulatory issues. The agency has announced that they would like to hear from members of the public to hear what they think about the issue. They will be holding a public listening session at the end of the month, open to anyone.
In the midst of the March and April when freight rates were collapsing, many drivers blamed freight brokers. Brokers were accused of being unnecessary middle men who where leeching the profit from loads off of commercial truck drivers. The head of the largest 3PL trade association, Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA), posted an unusual YouTube video defending brokers and blaming drivers themselves for accepting low rates. He retired from his post a short time later.
In a poll of the TruckersReport community, drivers were overwhelmingly in favor of limiting the amount of money brokers could make off of a load. Of those who responded, 24.3% though broker fees should be limited to less than 5% of the value of the load, 45.4% thought the limit should be 10%, and 18.5% thought the cap should be 20%.
A whopping 93.4% said that brokers should be required to automatically disclose to drivers how much they get paid for a load.
Driver advocacy groups petitioned the FMCSA to put regulations in place which would require 3PL brokers to do exactly that.
Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) asked that brokers be required to automatically send their records to carriers within 48 hours of the completion of the load. They also asked that brokers be prohibited from asking drivers to sign contracts which would waive their rights to that information.
While FMCSA has asked for public comment in the Federal Register, they’re also hosting a digital listening session to hear from the public. It will be held on Wednesday, October 28th, from 1:00 – 2:30pm Eastern Time.
Only those who register for the event ahead of time will be allowed to attend or speak during the public listening session. If you have any interest in making your voice heard on this subject, it is important that register as soon as possible – even if you’re not sure that you’ll be able to make it at that time.
As of Thursday evening, FMCSA has not yet opened registration for the event, but you will be able to register at www.fmcsa.dot.gov.
Source: federalregister, truckinginfo, overdrive, freightwaves, freightwaves, federalregister
I know this looks shiny and bright on the surface! Limiting brokers income… You gotta take a breath and step back a second. A large majority of owner operators are PRO-DEREGULATION of the trucking industry. Brokers are part of the industry like it or not. Try this. 1) only work with good honest brokerage companies. The legit outfits aren’t the ones “robbing” the owner op. 2) learn to run your business in a way that allows you to pass over the poor loads. Legitimate brokerage firms rarely offer up loads for poor rates. There’s a way brokers and owner ops can be successful TOGETHER! Again… LESS regulation. Not more.
As long as there’s no transparency on how much the broker is actually keeping for themselves, YOU have no way of knowing whether the broker is “legit” or not.
Brokers are in a competitive, commission based business, like selling used cars.
In general, the happier you are with a car purchase experience, the worse you were ripped off.
Chances are those “legit” brokers that are good at making you FEEL like you’re getting good money on a load are holding more back for themselves, by the same principle.
I agree, we need to have strict transparency in rate confirmation, before deciding to take the load, and no higher commission than 5% for brokers.
Tell me please WHERE and HOW do you find an honest broker. Oh I have heard brokers tell me how dishonest other brokers are and how honest they themselves are. When I was wildcattin about 45 years ago and had a reefer for about a year I had brokers telling me that. Then when I was able to get loads from some of the shippers directly I found that the HONEST brokers were taking 45 to 50 percent off the top then taking their HONEST 8 or 10 percent. But they had free coffee in their offices for drivers. And lots of free BS to feed you.
Hey john, 1.)where to find them. Get A subscription based load board that you have to pay for.
2.) how to find them. Follow the rates closely each day. You’ll quickly get a feel for what the higher paying loads are. Say You’re trying to get out of California. You notice the top loads are paying 2.50-2.85. Then you see some for 1.50-1.75 You can immediately cross those companies off your list . Do some homework. If 4 companies are offering loads out of the same small town, it’s likely the same load. Out of the 4, who is paying highest? That’s the broker that’s taking the least off the top. Watch for more of their loads in other areas you land at. Make it a game. Have fun with it! Trucking should be easy and nice, not painful and hard. Give it a try . Good luck !
To you guys that don’t know, there’s broker’s out there as well that make you bid on loads they put you on hold then want to know if you can do it for a little less
Careful drivers
Landstar transportation is one of those companies, but there’s more out there
We should know up front what companies pay the broker’s
Have a great day
I am a shipper from a manufacturing company. I will say that we utilize a lot of 53′ Conestoga’s , flat beds and some dry vans. I use brokers to get the best rates. What I am so frustrated about is the fluctuations in the domestic trucking market. One week Ill pay one price and the following week to same destination the rates gone up over 500 bucks. I wish there were set rates to certain zip codes with a fluctuation on fuel but seems like those days are gone. I have tried working with an asset based trucking company and they quote over 1k- 2k more than a broker ! Thats why shippers use brokers. If an asset based in Illinois can be competitive with brokers I would use them no question!