Freight Broker Business

I sometimes wonder how everyone in the freight broker business began their careers, especially with the multitude Freight Broker Training classes available. Most of the original freight broker pioneers are getting close to retirement age, giving way to a younger generation, logistics companies and trucking companies that have added the brokerage model to increase revenue.

The industry once formed to help fledgling trucking companies get their trucks back to their own customer base has evolved into one that allows larger asset based companies to grow without investing in more assets. It is just another piece of the puzzle for trucking companies, freight forwarders, 3PLs and 4PLs. The terms: freight broker, transportation intermediary, transportation broker or logistics company have all become interchangeable. The lines between head-haul freight and back-haul freight are not as defined as they once were and customers are no longer sure if the asset based carrier they gave the load to is hauling the freight on one of their trucks or on a broker truck.

All of these changes have helped improve the image of the freight broker by pulling most transportation companies under the same label, because most of them have brokerage divisions. These means trucking company X will no longer bad mouth the brokerage industry in the marketplace, because in doing so, he will only damage his own reputation. But the industry still has miles to go. Codes and guidelines need to be established and brokers need to hold themselves accountable to high standards. The one force that can drive these standards is the market place. If more customers demand to do buseinss only with certified brokers or brokers who use qualified business practices, the industry as a whole would be forced to change. But this kind of goes against the grain of the deregulation of the trucking industry that spurred the brokerage business, doesn't it and I don't think all of the Old Timers would be too fond of it.