Freight brokers need shared standards with consequences for non-compliance rather than another layer of tracking technology, Highway chief customer officer Michael Caney told the FreightWaves Broker Compliance Symposium. In its account of his keynote, FreightWaves reported that Caney viewed persistent fraud as evidence of weaknesses in how the industry verifies participants and holds its data suppliers accountable.
Caney argued that the pressure to secure a carrier quickly, combined with opportunities for bad actors to conceal their identities, leaves brokers vulnerable. Insurance agents, telematics providers and factoring companies all contribute to freight transactions, but he said brokers often bear the exposure when information used to approve a carrier is unreliable. His proposed remedy was agreement across participants on requirements that can be checked and enforced.
Insurance information illustrated the challenge. According to figures Caney presented, about 40 of roughly 10,000 agents supplying data cover nearly half the vehicles, while 200 cover just 3%. He argued that the fragmented supply of information leaves brokers dependent on sources with inconsistent accuracy and timeliness. More information alone, in his assessment, does not give brokers the ability to enforce compliance.
Caney also questioned whether spending on tracking delivers the outcomes brokers expect. Carrier records reporting 90% tracking compliance often produce results nearer 75% when checked by Highway, he said. FreightWaves attributed those figures to the speaker. Caney said Highway could withdraw certification from telematics providers with networks containing carriers involved in theft, remove carriers or reject certificates from insurance agents whose information was unreliable.
His alternative centres on automated, load-specific checks rather than increasingly elaborate rules that staff subsequently override. Vetting should establish whether insurance covers the particular commodity and whether liability limits are sufficient, he argued. Tracking should also begin automatically, instead of relying on a separate request for a driver to accept an application.
Caney said Highway had guaranteed well over $1 billion in freight, with few payouts, and that 243 of its 1,500 customers had joined its stricter, no-cost Performance Team standard. Those participants had moved one million loads, he said. His broader message was that freight businesses should agree enforceable transaction requirements themselves rather than leave the task to outside authorities.