If you browse through the more than 2,000 comments submitted to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration about its broker transparency proposal, it doesn’t take long to pick up on a general theme.
Truck drivers just want fairness.
“Please support the broker transparency rules,” James Gates wrote. “My small-trucking business has been affected by shady broker scams. I’ve dealt with double brokering, which is commonplace in the industry. And scams are being run by thieves that broker out loads and then the carrier never gets paid. Transparency rules would help my business by making freight rates more fair.”
Truckers like Gates are simply asking FMCSA to enforce broker transparency regulations that have been on the books for decades. In 2020, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association petitioned the agency to prevent brokers from evading the regulations.
FMCSA issued a proposal in November, and the public has through Jan. 21 to submit comments.
“The core issue between truckers and brokers is transparency – the details of the entire arrangement,” OOIDA President Todd Spencer said. “This isn’t complex stuff. This isn’t new stuff. We’re not asking for new regulations. The regulations for transparency have been on the books since 1980 … Brokers have simply not complied. They’ve simply blown off the rule. They’ve blown off the requirements for all these years … Enough is enough.”
OOIDA is hosting a “fireside chat” online meeting at 7:30 p.m. Central on Wednesday, Jan. 8 to answer questions about the proposal and to generate more comments from truck drivers.
Truckers can register to attend by clicking here.
In addition, OOIDA created a place on its FightingForTruckers.com website that allows truck drivers to file comments directly to FMCSA.
FMCSA’s broker transparency proposal would:
- Require brokers to keep their records in an electronic format
- Require brokers to provide an electronic copy of records within 48 hours after a carrier makes a request
- Require that records contain information about charges and payments connected to the shipment, including a description, amount and dates, as well as any claims connected to the shipment
- Affirm that brokers have a regulatory obligation to provide transaction records
FMCSA will accept comments on the broker transparency proposal through Jan. 21. In addition to OOIDA’s site, comments can be submitted by going to Regulations.gov and entering Docket No. FMCSA-2023-0257-0001. LL
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