This morning, as I we were browsing through news feeds from sources like Freightwaves and Freight Caviar, a major story caught our attention. The story focused on congressional testimony regarding extensive fraud within the freight market.
Jeffrey Tucker, the CEO of Tucker Company Worldwide, spoke on behalf of TIA, highlighting that fraud in the industry has reached a concerning milestone. Fraud in various forms within the industry has escalated to a staggering $800 million. Tucker pointed fingers at the FMCSA, accusing it of inadvertently fostering an environment conducive to criminal activity. He argued that the FMCSA’s regulations have enabled criminals to masquerade as legitimate, credentialed carriers.
We think this is a copout. Nobody wants to admit it but we,in the industry, bear some responsibility, as the weakest link in the chain. Current business practices, which often involve placing trust in voices over the phone or email addresses from load boards, represent a significant vulnerability. Often, brokers trust unknown individuals with expensive freight they don’t own.
To make matters worse, new tech platforms and digital brokerages have drastically shortened the timeline for freight movement. You end up having to trust someone that has not been verified. This rapid change in technology forces reliance on unverifiable elements, a risky proposition that seems only to be getting worse.
At FreightForge, we may sound like a broken record, but we will say this again,
Brokers need to get off the load board hamster wheel and develop relationships with carriers they can resuse over and over.
We are willing to bet that those who read this post have over 60% of their loads moved from “one-and-done” carriers they found on a load board. But we are not just here to highlight problems; we want to offer solutions.
If you are seeking advice on safeguarding your business and customer freight, feel free to reach out to us.