Largest Broker Group Challenges President Trump on Price Gouging Claims
Alexandria, VA – The head of the largest association representing third party logistics (3PL) companies is firing back at President Donald Trump after comments he made Friday morning during a televised interview.
During an interview by phone on Fox News, President Trump was asked about alleged “price gouging” by some freight brokers during the COVID-19 recession.
“Everything in front of us, our paper, our water bottles, our pencils, our phones are delivered on a truck, and you tweeted about American truckers being price gouged, what are you going to do about that?” Ainsley Earhardt of Fox & Friends asked the President.
As part of a rather lengthy response, Mr. Trump stated, “Oh they are price gouged. We’re going to take care of that.”
Click HERE to read President Trump’s full comments.
It didn’t take long before Chris Burroughs, VP of Government Affairs with the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA), took to social media to strongly object to the President’s assertion.
“Truckers are not being gouged by brokers on rates,” Burroughs argued. “The problem is 95% of the trucking industry is chasing 75% of the freight because of COVID-19 w/ market factors driving the rates down.”
Also, in a statement released shortly after the President made his remarks, TIA President and CEO, Robert A. Voltmann, said he was “disappointed.”
“[President Trump’s] position could not be further from the truth,” Voltmann stated. “As the President should know, real estate agents don’t determine the sales price of buildings, the market does. The same is true in trucking.”
Voltmann indicated TIA’s members are being scapegoating as a result of awful market conditions.
“Picking on one segment of one industry is not the answer. Getting America back to work, however, is the answer,” he argued.
Voltmann also pointed out, “All of the publicly traded 3PLs reported losses in revenue and gross margin in the first quarter.”
Further, he said he “welcomes the opportunity to discuss the situation with the Administration, as well as with all parties involved, in a formal setting – not through completely misconstrued and misrepresented statements across social media and other channels.”
The issue of alleged broker abuses has captured industry-wide attention since the release of a series of recent social media videos made by New Jersey trucker Rick Santiago.
The videos, which quickly went viral, mobilized many of the truckers who are currently demonstrating in Washington D.C.
Click HERE to read more about Santiago and the response from the brokers mentioned in his videos.
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In response to the growing furor, multiple trucking groups including the Small Business in Transportation Coalition (SBTC) and the Owner Operator Independent Driver’s Association (OOIDA) have now called for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the United States Congress to take action to require brokers to provide more transparency in the carrier/broker/shipper relationship.
Click HERE to read exactly what these groups are demanding.
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is seeking evidence of potential violations of antitrust laws on the part of brokers before possibly opening an investigation into the matter.
Click HERE to read more on what actions the DOJ is taking.
Stay with TransportationNation.com for the latest on this fast moving story.
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its the brokers they are keeping more than 50%. Someone explain to me why my broker payed me 3200 from gainsville georgia to the boston area and online a similar load is going for 1500. And i got a contract from atlanta to riviera dry load 10000lbs for $2000. Online a similar load is going for 1200 or less at -10 43000lbs and two day delivery. I have proof that my own brokers say that other brokers are taking advantage of the current situation and always have but right now its worse. TQL, Shram, choptank, coyote, c.h. robinson and plenty of others are thieves.
Please, if all possible, I would love to have dialogue with Chris of the TIA. It is obvious that his is very bias. Tell him to contact me at Davis_markcus@yahoo.com. Where were he was when back in last September at the last listening session when I gave my take in Washington? As I explain these so call white color workers need to come ride with me a week to give them another perspective, but we all know behind the desk in the air condition is favorite spot. We have too many people in this industry at the top that are career flunkies looking for a big pay day and telling lies. The sad part is that they believe their allusions.
Did you know that the membership fee to be a member of the TIA is a percentage of the annual sales of the member? As a carrier and a broker, we have not been requested by our customers to renegotiate rates. The spot market is full of asset based carrier / brokers and non asset brokers who have contracts and are stripping the rate to the bare minimum they can get away with. The desperate ones will take those rates which only helps perpetuate a down market. Some brokers are taking freight by offering stupidly low rates to customers just to get the work knowing, using current market forces, they’ll find some desperate sucker who will haul it in an effort to survive. One hell of a “thank you” to another group of frontline workers, the American Truck Driver and their families. DO NOT HAUL BELOW YOUR MARGINS! Park it! You can’t afford not to! This pandemic has brought to light a lot of corruption in Federal State and Local governments and trucking. Will anything positive for our industry come from this? I sure hope so!
Good afternoon, hey let’s be honest here! First of all the broker’s have a binding contract with the shipping companies. The price doesn’t change until the contract ends at the end of the year of which it started.
Price gouging is pure GREED and DISRESPECT to the owner operators. The brokers are taking up to 65% of the load and giving O/O 35% of the load.
How and why are they allowed to get away with this behavior?
We truck drivers are not making this up! Just go look for yourself on DAT’s Load board.
I’m fully aware that we O/O are essential, but we are treated like crap by the broker’s, and they are condescending as well!
We need transparency in this industry, between the shipper and the broker. Brokers are entitled to 16% not 65%. They are not asset based, we O/O are.
It’s about time for the FMCSA to monitor the brokers the same way they monitor the truck drivers.
We O/O and trucker drivers keep this great country of ours, alive and well. We should be treated with respect, and paid fairly for the service that we provide to our country.
This BROKER’s price Gouging must stop ASAP! They will put us out of business, if they are allowed to continue to do this.
We need help! We need to be heard! We need a voice to represent us! If we shut down, the country will be shut down as well.
Transparency is the key!!!! Maybe the trucking industry should be unionized!
Hey let’s not forget about DAT’S Load board, who are they to determine/dictate the price per mile that we should get paid?
Obviously they are not aware of the expenses that we encounter from origin to destination. Like tolls and gas.
Example: pickup from Newark, NJ to Brooklyn, NY. 45 mile travel
DAT- load board says $2.00 per mile so now the brokers offers us drivers $200.00 sounds good. but it’s not, not at all.
To come into NYC we must go over the George Washington bridge they charge us tractor trailers $125.00 to enter NYC. plus $40.00 for the new Jersey turnpike tolls to go get this load.
Now we have to pay $40.00 to enter Brooklyn, NY and $40.00 to leave Brooklyn, NY. now totaled that up. that’s comes to $245
Not to mention gas, that easy another $30.00 to get to NYC. $275.00
Broker paying $200.00
Trucker expense $275.00
So now I’m paying to deliver this load for the Broker….
I’m coming out of my pocket to deliver this load for the broker.
THAT’S WHY WE NEED TRANSPARENCY!!!!
The BROKER’s are killing us O/O
PLEASE HELP US!!!!!!!!! WE TRUCK DRIVERS DO KEEP THIS COUNTRY UP AND RUNNING…….