Dive Brief:
- The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is proposing tightening regulations regarding broker record-keeping and disclosure, according to a notice of proposed rulemaking released this week. Comments can be submitted until Jan. 21 through regulations.gov.
- The measure would require broker transaction records to be electronic and shared with carriers within 48 hours upon request, which the agency says it would improve transparency and accountability.
- The changes would ease access to information and ensure claims such as those by shippers about damage or delay are documented with full visibility, which would help resolve matters between the parties “without resorting to costlier remedies,” according to the agency.
Dive Insight:
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and Small Business in Transportation Coalition petitioned the agency for reform in 2020, calling for overhauls and saying broker contracts can include clauses waiving access rights.
Current regulations already make access to transaction records a right for relevant parties, but for years, carriers have noted problems with accessing them, the agency said. The proposed rule would clarify this right as a regulatory obligation, according to the notice.
The electronic requirement is sought because brokers can complicate matters by “making the required records available for inspection only at their principal place of business,” which can mean access is essentially impossible, according to the notice.
The Transportation Intermediaries Association, which represents brokers, called the proposed rulemaking misguided overreach.
“TIA has consistently maintained that the broker transparency regulation, rooted in the 1980s, is obsolete and un-American,” the group said in a statement. “Originally implemented in an era following trucking deregulation when brokers acted as commissioned sales agents for motor carriers, this rule has no place in today’s highly transparent marketplace.”
The proposed rulemaking aims to provide all parties with full visibility into shipment payments, fees and charges — a level of transparency the FMCSA says is currently rare.
OOIDA President Todd Spencer said updating the rule would “help carriers defend themselves against alleged claims on a shipment” and emphasize brokers’ “duty to comply with regulations.”
