Freight brokers pushing truck-fitness bill

“By providing a standardized approach to carrier selection, this bill will enhance safety and accountability throughout the supply chain.”

TIA has been lobbying Congress to approve versions of legislation for close to 10 years.

“We’ve been fighting for this for quite a while,” TIA President Chris Burroughs told FreightWaves. “We’re hoping now to get it included in the reauthorization package.”

Large 3PLs like C.H. Robinson (NASDAQ: CHRW) also have been lobbying in support of the bill.

“Congressman Stauber’s Motor Carrier Safety Selection Standard Act is a vital step forward that is grounded in the expertise of the professionals at the [FMCSA],”  C.H. Robinson Chief Legal Officer Dorothy Capers told FreightWaves in an email.

“Contrary to some misconceptions, this legislation is not a liability shield – it defines responsibility, rather than eliminating it, by aligning carrier selection with all of FMCSA’s safety requirements. No one should offer freight to motor carriers who have been ordered off the highway by FMCSA.”

In addition to motor carrier selection standards, TIA also is urging lawmakers to include in the highway bill legislation that cracks down on fake and illegitimate brokers and carriers, and new regulations for combatting cargo theft.

Transparency battle

The group at the same time is opposing any efforts to include into the highway reauthorization aspects of the proposed broker transparency rule, which FMCSA plans to reissue in January.

“This rule was relevant when brokers were commissioned agents of motor carriers and rates were regulated by the federal government,” Hoff told DOT. “Today, brokers operate as independent businesses that negotiate separately with shippers and carriers and often work under strict confidentiality agreements.”

Many owner operators and small-business trucking companies, however, see such agreements as a restriction on their legal rights.

“Today, billion-dollar brokers exert enormous influence over decision-making bodies, wielding money and lobbying clout to weaken or erase protections Congress explicitly designed for the motor carriers who are the backbone of this nation’s supply chain,” wrote Leander Richmond, creator of grass-roots trucker group Carriers United, in an email sent Friday to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

Richmond contends that by not disclosing their transaction records, freight brokers are breaking the law. “Brokers provide a very unnecessary service. If they were forced to follow the law, most of them would not exist.”

Related articles:

• FMCSA pumps the brakes on new trucking regulations
• Lead sponsor of TIA-backed truck safety bill withdraws support
• Feds taking another look at truck-broker contract rules
• Lawmakers reintroduce trucking company hiring standards

Click for more FreightWaves articles by John Gallagher.