Freight Brokers: Making a Name for Themselves

Once viewed as opportunistic and sometimes unsavory middlemen operating with little more than a phone and fax, freight brokers have achieved a certain level of respectability in the minds of shippers and perhaps even grudging acceptance by many truckers.

From a handful of companies in 1980, the number of licensed freight brokers has climbed to more than 11,000. It is estimated that brokers have a hand in 20% of all truckload shipments in the United States. According to Robert A. Voltmann, president of the Transportation Intermediaries Association in Alexandria, Va., TIA-member brokers control as much as $40 billion worth of freight annually, or roughly 6.5% of the $610 billion spent on truck transportation in 2001.

The impetus for the growth of brokerage was the Motor Carrier Act of 1980. The law opened the door for third parties without equipment assets to arrange for freight movement by undoing nearly six decades of strict government regulation of truck routes, rates and services.

For the full story, see the July 1 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.

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