ATLANTA — Jordan Graft sees a lot of corruption, bad actors and fraudsters in the trucking industry.
“People used to be able to hire a carrier based on three emails, passing a rules assessment and an insurance certification and that’s just not possible anymore. The world’s just changed,” Graft, founder and CEO of Highway, said at FreightWaves’ Future of Supply Chain event.
Graft was joined on stage Wednesday by FreightWaves CEO Craig Fuller in a discussion titled “Trucking Fraud and Cybercrime Briefing.”
“We see fraud at almost every layer, whether it’s the insurance: Whether it’s the ELD layer, whether it’s email phishing, fraud is everywhere. They’re trying to get in at every point of access of a freight broker,” Graft said.
Dallas-based Highway is focused on solving the digital identity problem in the trucking industry. The firm aims to remove risk and friction between brokers and carriers by being an onboarding provider with a carrier identity engine.
Identity theft, double brokering and other types of fraud are costing the trucking industry over $100 million annually, according to experts.
Fraud and carrier identification must be addressed through layers of security, Graft said.
“You have to have a multilayered solution that’s looking at not just does this carrier pass my overall company’s rules assessment, but what type of freight am I willing to give that carrier?” Graft said. “That’s the evolution that I think is the most fundamentally changing of what Highway is. Now we’re saying, OK, they may pass, but this carrier doesn’t get access to consumer electronic loads out of Southern California, or they don’t get access to high-value loads for this shipper.”
He said security is about removing friction from the process of carrier-broker relationships.
“We allow brokers to do load level compliance and change the requirements, and that’s so important in this industry, in this market right now, because you have to reduce friction,” Graft said. “You can’t put friction on the entire business; you have to let certain things move really quickly, like your bottled water loads or your low-risk, low-value loads. Those need to be able to move quickly and not put a lot of friction on your carrier sales team to get those loads covered.”
A sense of security with high-value loads is important to brokers, Graft said.
“You want to focus your effort and energy and any compliance or risk function, you want to put that stuff in a matrix and focus on the ones that have the highest risk so that you don’t overly burden the entirety of the business,” he said. “How that relates to the freight brokers and their ability to serve shippers is that we think we make our brokers better. That’s our job. We don’t serve shippers. We don’t sell to shippers. We never will. We serve one master, and it’s really important that we make our brokers better and make them the hero.”
Michael Caney
Noi, please edit “low-level compliance” to “load-level”
Thank you. That’s is the proper explanation of what Jordan was describing.
Doug Thomas
You couldn’t possibly identify a better example of a player using an interview soley for the purpose of self-dealing. The age old practice of “fear mongering” to push their personal agenda.
Dorson Hess
Hello, I am a heavy hauler, and I own a brokerage. What was proposed above although is a great idea in theory. Their would have to be a bit more to just that being done. You would need to get the FMCSA involved and the owners of the load boards Truckstop, DAT, ect. And that would just be the beginning.
Groundhog
Groundhog been a driver for 35 years I must have my opinion Heard. The fact that brokers/brokerage firms have this power hungry feel is slightly discomforting. Enough of brokerage firms having this control over the transportation industry! Control from tracking the driver though there personal phone to rate con robbery. A broker is like dealing with a street thug. When will the driver’s stand strong and stand together for real industry change for the driver get your heads out of your seats and unite!! Shameful industry corrupt lies and total disrespect. 🥂🌠🙏 sincerely Groundhog 🤔🙄
Mike Amber
Why, in every article about fraud in the industry, is it about vetting the carriers but the broker still doesn’t have to prove it can pay?
The solution to the double brokering and weather you are dealing with a legitimate broker is simple. Make the brokers have skin in the game.
No more credit from the trucking companies. 40% advance due up front, and final payment due 7 days after receipt of billing. What we have all learned lately is that these brokers have no real money. They run to the bank for a loan on the days sales every night, use your money for 30+ days and maybe pay you or decide they didn’t get all the correct paperwork and withhold payment. Meanwhile, the guy who did the work put his money out and is stuck with the bills on a load he might not get paid for.
Broker need to put their money on the table along with the truck.
Guaranteed, when the bad actors have to put their money on the table the fraud will stop.
JOVON Jackson
Brokers are the Biggest problem in the Trucking industry!🤷🏾
Will Wade
But at the same time Highway wants access to your ELD and all of it’s information so their data base can be breached and all your information stolen. Just a new type of data broker who wants to market your information for profit and pretend their providing a service.
Stephen Webster
In ont Canada I am seeing many trucking companies of all sizes that are incorrectly paying both drivers and mechanics as self employed
They often underpay these drivers if they get paid at all
This results in more sick or injured truck drivers in homeless shelters
We need to clean up the industry and reduce foreign workers in the transport industry untill they get proper pay proper medical care and temporary housing if sick or injured