Insider Secrets to Successful Freight Brokering

Collateral Damage to the Freight Broker

Several years ago, a very large 3pl company got smacked with a fine of over $23 million dollars. That is "million". The court found them guildy of negligence. There were several deaths involved. They were called being "vicariously negligent" which means, essentially, that they did not take the necessary precautions in selecting a motor carrier.

To be honest, no freight broker will ever be 100% sure that a carrier they assign the load to will not have a problem during delivery. And, to be honest again, this particular 3pl company is a huge company and has some big bucks. The attorneys like that and they go where the money is.

Here is the point. There are some new regulations on board now that govern how a motor carrier should conduct business. The freight broker is in a position to be found guilty of negligence if they do not properly conduct their due diligence with the carrier.

Take for example, the new proposed hours of service. There are some requirements that may not provide accurate information despite being mandated by the government. I will provide a good example of this on a future blog post.

If the freight broker is ignorant as to what is going on with the carrier, the freight broker may be skating on thin ice (no matter how cold it is for you right now).

You Could Be Out of a Job. Are You Prepared?

CSA 2010 is coming down the pipeline. This is the new methodology and implementation of the FMCSAs Comprehensive Safety Analysis with the purpose of being more proactive in reducing motor vehicle crashes, injuries and fatalities.

If you are a truck driver or truck owner, you need to know how this is going to impact you. There will be thousands of drivers unable to continue driving IF they fail to comply or pass muster.

As time permits, I will continue to make comments here regarding this topic. Or, you may visit the official website by going to: http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov/Default.aspx

Note: Many drivers are contacting me for freight broker training as it would be a great substitute for driving.

Have You TWICed Anyone Lately?

For those motor carriers entering and working within various "secure" areas, which include our nation's ports, a TWIC card will allow quicker passage or may be required. The TWIC card stands for "Transportation Worker Identification Credential" card and it stores personal information related to carriers.

The idea is to ensure safer passage into the port areas. Yet, according to a recent LandLine magazine article, almost 40% of respondents said their cards were always checked or checked most of the time. The rest, about 60%, said they were rarely or never checked.

If you are a carrier, what has your experience been? Give us some feedback. Just click on Comments below.