Last week we sent a letter written on behalf of REAL Women in Trucking Inc. in collaboration with Truckers Movement for Justice, The National Owner Operators Association and the North American Trucking Alliance to the Federal Trade Commission - Chair Lina Khan and cc'd U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg alleging price fixing by freight brokers.
An article in the Capitol Forum provided an overview of our collaborative efforts.
The letter explains the deceptive and unfair methods of competition that have arisen from the lack of transparency enforcement of freight broker regulation CFR Title 49 Subtitle B Chapter III 371.3.
We contend that freight brokers are negotiating rates with shippers based on market conditions, and then offering those freight loads to small business carriers at rates far below market conditions. These practices compromise safety and violate transportation regulations.
Consequently, small business carriers and owner-operators frequently have to neglect vehicle safety maintenance to provide for their families.
We wrote the letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) since the issue aligns with the agency’s mission to protect the public from deceptive or unfair business practices and methods of competition. We contend that freight brokers are increasingly price fixing freight rates to eliminate small carriers from the market who cannot compete with large trucking companies, inserting anti-competitive language into freight contracts and blacklisting small carriers who demand transparency under 49 CFR § 371.3.
You read the entire letter HERE
We have written a previous letter in support of the FTC proposed rule to end non-compete clauses, you can read it HERE.
We are aware Chair Khan had read our previous letter and was familiar with our organization. We were asked to join a coalition of other diverse truck driver groups in Spring 2024 and began drafting the letter that was sent in late October 2024.