Arkansas Trucking Association

A Freight Broker by Any Other Name

While ‘freight broker’ is currently defined on the FMCSA website as “a person or an entity which arranges for the transportation of property by a motor carrier for compensation; a broker does not transport the property and does not assume responsibility for the property,” the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, passed late last year requires the FMCSA to issue new guidance on the definition of by Nov. 15, 2022.

The law also requires the agency to consider the impact of technology and the role of dispatch services in the freight transportation industry.

The rise of load boards, dispatching services and load-matching technology may be leading to confusion, and in some cases leading to illegal double-brokering and lawsuits regarding who’s responsible in the case of a crash.

Another question FMCSA wants to address is the role of technology. For instance, electronic bulletin boards match shippers and carriers for a fee; the fee acts as a membership fee giving them access to the bulletin board information. FMCSA asks whether those electronic bulletin boards should be considered brokers and require them to register with FMCSA.