Automatic transport broker is a kind of cargo broker who specializes in shipping and transportation of vehicles. Most of the vehicles shipped in the US are cars and trucks, but many brokers handle boats, RVs, motorcycles, and other types of vehicles as well. Automatic transport is classified as "special freight transport" under the code of NAICS 484230.
Video Auto transport broker
How Brokers Work
Automated transport brokers are part of the business chains of the private vehicle transport industry. In the US, this brokerage company must have the proper license and authority from FMCSA to be allowed to brok vehicles for customers. Individuals or businesses that need to move cars or other vehicles are shippers; the sender contacts the broker to have their vehicle delivered or transported. Once the broker is booked, the broker's job is to find an operator, which is an individual or company that actually hires a driver and operates a car transport equipment.
Brokers are hired because they have access to the payload board, where they can post jobs and find operators who have transport resources in the area. They can also get lower shipping rates by getting competitive bids by different carriers. However, brokers and operators are not always separate entities - some automated transport companies handle brokers and transportation.
Maps Auto transport broker
Numbers
The US Department of Transportation stores statistics on cargo shipments, showing more than $ 651 billion of motor vehicles and other truck-driven vehicles (including spare parts) in 2007. Of that amount, $ 452 billion of cargo was transferred through rental trucks. Official statistics on the size of the secondary car transport market, the number of commercial size car transport vehicles on the road and the number of vehicles shipped are not stored by the DOT.
With the advent of the Internet, the automated transport industry has seen the entry of new brokers, attracted by the low cost of starting an online brokerage business. While this encourages greater competition and lower costs in industry, government agencies have also seen "dramatic increases in complaints against automated carriers and automated transport brokers" due to Internet fraud.
Permission requirements
Automated transport brokers in the US are subject to government licenses. Candidates must obtain the Operational Authority number from the Federal Motor Transportation Safety Administration by filling out the form on the FMCSA website. There is a small application processing fee. Brokers are also required to obtain bonds. Known as the Freight Broker Bond, it exists to cover losses by motor operators, in the case of brokers committing fraud or other irregularities. Before 2012, the minimum bond is $ 10,000, although many brokers choose to earn a higher amount.
2012 rules
The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, signed by President Obama on July 6, 2012, introduced a number of new rules for automated transport brokers. Chief among them raised the broker's minimum bond from $ 10,000 to $ 75,000. The new provisions take effect on October 1, 2013, and have been applied to all existing brokers retroactively.
BMC-84 Freight Broker Bond is payable annually. The cost of a cargo broker's bond is calculated as a percentage of the amount of bonds depending on
- Ownership credit (credit score, age/status of any General Record)
- Years in Business
- Finance
- Experience
Other rules include:
- A review of the license status by FMCSA every five years; FMCSA also has the power to revoke the broker's license if there are unethical practices.
- Relevant 3 years experience and certified training requirements to obtain a broker license, which carries the qualification requirements of an automated shipping broker in line with the marine shipping industry.
- Stricter regulation of "interlining," the practice of freight carriers recruiting other operators to "perform all or part of the mandatory service of the originator" to provide. Now, the operator contracting all or part of the work to another provider will need to get a separate brokerage authority from the government. The transport company will also be required to notify its customers of what role (operator, forwarder or broker) it plays at each stage of the transport work, as well as the USDOT agency that governs the activity.
Industrial Reactions
Association of Independent Property Brokers & amp; Agent (AIPBA), a property brokerage group that claims 1,400 members, has petitioned and lobbied against higher bonding requirements when this has been proposed in the past, and has strongly criticized the new law. Founder & amp; AIPBA President James Lamb has referred to the law as lobbyist-driven efforts to "get rid of small brokers from the market" and build oligopolies that weigh more customers and pay fewer operators.
The National Association for Minority Drivers (NAfMT) also came out to meet the higher bonds requirements. NAfMT CEO Kevin Reid called the $ 75,000 bond "a reasonable barrier to entry for aspiring entrepreneurs." He also spoke out against new restrictions on owner-operators mediating over-delivery. NAfMT has joined an effort by AIPBA to revoke more stringent guarantees.
Other industry associations have supported the law. The Operator Owner Independent Association (OOIDA), a group representing independent truck-owner operators, has become a key force behind the new regulations. Although the last legislation in MAP-21 did not meet OOIDA's wishes, Todd Spencer, executive vice president of the organization, praised them as "win-win" for truck drivers and legitimate middlemen.
The Transportation Mediation Association (TIA), the main third-party logistics trading organization, has also advocated new FMCSA regulations through TIAPAC's lobby arm as a way to protect motor operators from incompetent and immoral brokers. TIA council member Ken Lund acknowledged that new bonds may be difficult for small touts to pay, but defend it as "cheap enough" and useful for preventing fraud.
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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