Double brokering has emerged as one of freight transportation’s most pervasive problems in this freight cycle, affecting as much as $500 million to $700 million in freight annually. The practice, which involves a carrier re-brokering a load to another carrier without the knowledge or consent of the other parties, not only creates operational chaos, but also exposes the industry to significant financial and liability risks.
This white paper, based on a survey conducted by FreightWaves and TriumphPay, delves into the practice, exploring its impacts and potential solutions. While it presents a significant challenge to the freight transportation industry, there are ways to mitigate its impact, and the insights and recommendations provided in this white paper aim to contribute to the endeavor.
Sheryl Acree
I would be curious to know how many brokerages accept lease agreements and what mode type is more susceptible to double brokering?
Niccol Gordon
Not saying it’s 100% avoidable but it can be prevented. I am a owner operator and dispatcher. When I show up for a load I check the BOL if my company RNN Global Transportation isn’t on it as the carrier then I know it’s double brokered and it’s as simple as contacting the shipper and communicating. Letting them know who I am, my MC, the PO number that I have the freight, my contact info, ask they send me a RC and I insure the ontime delivery and provide tracking if required I will also take a picture of the load to insure the scammed real broker or shipper their freight is safe. I have caught every double broker attempt. It raises my bottom line and I then establish relationships with the real broker or shipper. The shipper will give you the real brokers information. It’s called due diligence. My companies reputation depends on it. These simple steps help to keep my wheels rolling. Because the extra 300 to sometimes 700 stays in my pocket and not the illegal middle man. Freight is stolen everyday without a trace because nobody knows whose carrying it. Nobody knows whose truck it’s on. Nobody knows the driver or whom they are dealing with. Factoring is another help. It may cost a little more but if your factoring company won’t take them it’s a reason. Shippers should be more willing to work directly with carriers especially after already doing work with them instead of just taking the easy way out and throwing everything on load boards where these scammers sit and wait. I caught a company from another company try to broker me and I caught them from the first phone call and knew what was going on but still picked up the freight and contacted the shipper while still loading. The shipper was so scared I felt horrible for her. She didn’t even know what was going on, said this same thing happened to her less than a week ago and they were still looking for the freight and the shipper put it against her bond. I ensured the delivery, delivered early and this shipper normally wouldn’t even have worked with me because your authority has to be 8 months for her company mines is six but what could she do her freight was on my truck and if it got dropped back off who knows who would have shown up next. People do your due diligence. Together as a team we can bring trucking back but we all, all aspects of trucking from the shipper to the carrier and everyone inbetween has to work together.
Michelle Thomas
We’re a hybrid because we own mills, have a division that buys and sells lumber, and we have our own internal transportation brokerage firm. 90% of what we move, we are the shipper and owner of cargo and if I’m not moving it directly, I still do all the paperwork and truck scheduling for our customer pickups.
We’ve had so many carriers in the past few months that don’t realize that connection and have tried to double broker on us or our clients. We have a strict vetting process at our yards and have caught over a dozen trucks coming in to take loads not assigned to them in the last 3 months. I’ve never seen it this bad in 30 years.
In July, I reported 5 carriers that tried to onboard with our company but were using other carrier’s MCs & DOTs, forging insurance, etc to USDOT and they told me it’s not their problem. I asked USDOT why they don’t think they have a responsibility to, at the very least, inform the true USDOT number owners that it’s being used fraudulently and they replied that the file/claim was closed and they wouldn’t respond further.
Sales rep
Double brokering is a huge problem. When you call someone out they claim the carrier hauling the freight has a lease agreement or they call it co-brokering. No matter what it’s called it reduces the carrier’s profits and increases the shippers costs reducing their profits. While brokers serve as a resource for carriers with small fleets and shippers that lack the expertise in shipping there has to be a standard of ethics across the industry and we just don’t see ethical behavior from carriers, brokers or shippers.
Paden Ramey
A freight carrier illegally double brokering loads to other freight carriers is a massive problem. I’m sure there are instances of brokers doing shady things as well. But the carrier to carrier double brokering must make up 90%+ of the fraud in the industry.
johng
correct now we need transperency
Ned Renfrew
When they double broker to a fraudulent broker who has no intentions of paying the carrier for their work – This causes the problem due to the fact that a POD is a binding contract between the Shipper/Receiver/Carrier and the Shipper/Receiver – Must pay again due to this fact.
Kyle matteson
Meanwhile NM > CA lane was double brokered 5 times by brokers. Pushing rate from $2900 to $1300 in a matter of an hour.
Double broker is subjective, whenever broker A sells load to Broker B with approval to broker out to broker C. There really is no different if they gave Broker B permission of not. Either way whoever is hauling the load has insurance to cover said product.
Its only a problem when they want to make it a problem.
Hilarious when you book a load with one broker, comments say check in as another broker, only to find out at shipper it was a conpletly different broker that originally had the load.