More than four years ago, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association petitioned the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to address the lack of broker transparency in the trucking industry. Although the FMCSA accepted that petition, no action has been taken.
That could change soon.
In October, FMCSA is scheduled to unveil a notice of proposed rulemaking in regards to broker transparency. While it is unknown what the agency will propose, truckers hope it will lead to enforcement of existing regulations that provide access to transaction records.
“For years, small-business truckers have expressed frustration that regulations designed to provide transparency are routinely evaded by brokers or simply not enforced by FMCSA,” OOIDA Executive Vice President Lewie Pugh submitted in written testimony to a House subcommittee in July.
Regulation CFR 371.3 already requires that brokers keep records of each transaction with a carrier and that each party to the transaction has a right to view these records.
“These regulations are in place to protect motor carriers, brokers, and the public by ensuring the transparent and smooth movement of goods throughout the supply chain,” Pugh wrote. “This transparency helps owner-operators when brokers send them bills regarding disputed claims, such as damages. Without this information, it is impossible to know if these charges are legitimate. Unfortunately, many brokers deliberately implement hurdles they know will prevent a carrier from ever seeing this information.”
OOIDA’s petition
In 2020, OOIDA petitioned FMCSA to:
- Require brokers to automatically provide an electronic copy of each transaction record within 48 hours after the contractual service has been completed
- Explicitly prohibit brokers from including any provision that requires carriers to waive their rights to access the transaction records
FMCSA accepted the petition in March 2023 and made known its plans to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Spring 2024 Unified Regulatory Agenda, the agency plans to issue the proposal in October.
Broker fraud has been estimated to cost the trucking industry as much as $800 million each year. Truckers contend that simply enforcing broker transparency regulations would be a big step toward combating the problem.
“If rules are promulgated to improve broker transparency and DOT better enforces current regulations, the economic stability of the trucking industry would be more assured and the reliability of our supply chain would improve,” Pugh wrote. LL
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