For the last few months, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has asked the public to give their opinion regarding a petition put out by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association regarding transparency in property broker transactions. The OOIDA is asking for property brokers to provide a copy of each transaction record within 48 hours after service is complete.
The comments are open to the public and it seems that truckers and carriers are asking for transparency with brokers. There are quite a few examples given regarding times where truckers/carriers felt cheated with how brokers handled their deliveries. Here are a couple of examples taken from the regulations.gov website.
WJM Trucking LLC – “It’s not unreasonable to think that rights provided by a law allowing trucking companies the right to see transaction records not be allowed to be waived by a contract. Perfect example happened to me today. Delivering a load and was there for 6 hours. Most generally detention is paid after 2 hours and when I ask broker for final contract with the detention added in he says we’ll pay it if they pay us. So now because this broker put a waiver in a contract I have to hope they honor their word? I don’t believe that for 1 second, they are getting paid but I’m not. Detention is standard in the industry as long as you show up on time for an appointment which I did. Can’t any of you lawmakers tell me that I shouldn’t be able to see the transaction record on that because all these companies forces carriers to waive laws put into place for that exact reason? Why is that even a law if you can just waive it? I’m sick of hearing that it’s our fault, don’t sign the contract. How did it get so easy to rip people off and be supported by the US government?”
Kelly Morris – “I believe this “transparency” on the part of the broker is indeed a long over due neccesity. These large brokers have dominated the industry and held carriers down for far too long. I do understand why they may not want to be regulated by the FMCSA, the fact is they are and must be. Carriers would like less regulation as well, but that is not our reality. Carriers must comply and submit ourselves to the scrutiny of the FMCSA, and so must our broker partners. As a side note, all of these complaints from 3PLS and Brokerage firms seem a little Shakespearian, as spoken by Queen Gertrude, “The lady doth protest too much, methinks”. It would appear there is something they wish to keep hidden…”
Click the link below to learn more about this and to read the remaining 900+ comments. Open commenting will close on October 19, 2020.