Check Call: It has been decided

In this edition: The FMCSA has issued final guidance on the broker and agent divide and there are big doings in the West Coast labor talks.

people gathered around a desk of computers. Check Call news and analysis for 3pls and brokers

Check Call the Show. News and Analysis for 3PLs and Freight Brokers.

Welcome to Check Call, our corner of the internet for all things 3PL, freight broker and supply chain. Check Call the podcast comes out every Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. EDT. Catch up on previous episodes here. If this was forwarded to you, sign up for Check Call the newsletter here.

In this edition: The FMCSA has issued final guidance on the broker and agent divide and there are big doings in the West Coast labor talks. 

(Gif: Tenor)

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has officially issued guidance for the interpretation of trucking brokerages that could help reverse the amount of double brokers. This official guidance comes after the interim guidelines were published in November. The final guidelines, per the FMCSA ruling are as follows:

FreightWaves’ John Gallager’s article states, “FMCSA emphasized that the guidance ‘does not have the force and effect of law and is not meant to bind the public in any way.’”


But Small Business in Transportation Coalition asserted that by FMCSA making clear that entities holding themselves out as dispatchers cannot avoid having to obtain a broker’s license unless they work under the geographic and commodity principles the agency outlined, “this is effectively a death blow for unlicensed brokers calling themselves dispatchers.” 

(SONAR TRAC Market Dashboard)

TRAC Tuesday. This week’s TRAC lane is Cincinnati to Denver. Outbound tender rejections in Cincinnati and Denver have started falling, indicating that spot rates will be following in the coming days. Putting downward pressure on spot rates will be paramount throughout the week, but ensure that rates haven’t dropped so low that it could hurt the carrier relationship. 

(Image: Instagram)

Who’s with whom? There are big doings out West. The Pacific Maritime Association, representing the terminals, and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, representing workers, have tentatively agreed on a new six-year contract. No major details of the agreement were released and the agreement has yet to pass through the ratification process on both sides. Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su was apparently “instrumental” in the agreement. 


FreightWaves’ Greg Miller’s article said: “Reaching an agreement prior to peak season was crucial for all parties. Doing so avoided political fallout to the Biden administration from pre-holiday congestion headlines. The ILWU avoided reputational fallout from holding up Christmas cargoes to increase wages that were already relatively high. And the PMA averted losses to port productivity during peak season, which translates into more terminal profits.”

Image: Reddit r/FreightBrokers

Double broker red flags 

Double broker red flag No. 5: Thou shall not be bullied by a carrier.

Do not pay the carrier until it legally makes you. Demand original documentation for payment. Tell the carrier you suspect that it is a double broker and are unwilling to pay until you are 100% sure that there isn’t another carrier you actually owe the money to. If you can avoid paying these guys for 45-plus days, they will have either paid off the original carrier or stiffed the other carrier hard enough that they will come looking for you. 

Got any favorite tips? Let me know or post on LinkedIn. I’d love to share them with everyone. 

The more you know 

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RXO continues to perform as cycle inflection lingers 

Tiger Cool Express ceases operations amid financial troubles


Philadelphia I-95 after 6 days: Trucking impacted but chaos seems averted

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