Business groups are pressing the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to implement changes in the wake of a Supreme Court decision that expanded legal exposure to brokers that select unsafe motor carriers.
The groups, including the Small Business in Transportation Coalition and Transportation Intermediaries Association, say the aftermath of the Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II et al. decision requires federal intervention. Otherwise brokers could overcorrect the issue, choosing to avoid safe carriers due to limited public information.
“The determination of what motor carriers are safe to use properly rests with the federal government,” the TIA said in its petition.
Carriers likely to face adverse screenings, groups say
Because about nine out of 10 carriers don’t have safety rating by the FMCSA, that could steer brokers away from unrated industry participants in the wake of the Supreme Court decision, industry groups say.
“This leaves brokers and shippers in the difficult position of effectively serving as the enforcement arm of the Agency—making critical safety determinations in the absence of clear federal standards or sufficient regulatory guidance,” TIA President and CEO Chris Burroughs said in a LinkedIn post.
Property “brokers are likely to next discriminate against motor carriers that do not have a ‘Satisfactory’ rating,” where an unrated status involves 97% of motor carriers, the SBTC said in a petition for rulemaking.
The SBTC called for emergency rulemaking to have the FMCSA issue satisfactory safety ratings by default after an entity successfully completes a new entrant safety audit.
“This would enable new entrant carriers to avoid being discriminated against by shippers and brokers from the onset out of fear of being accused of hiring an ‘unsafe’ carrier,” the SBTC said in its petition.
Broker group calls for federal standard, ‘high risk’ list
The TIA also asked the agency to establish a federal selection standard for brokers and shippers to evaluate whether a carrier is safe or not. The group recommended using criteria such as whether a carrier is determined to be “not unfit to operate” or “ordered to discontinue operations.”
TIA also asked FMCSA to provide a list of motor carriers deemed to be “high risk.”
TIA leadership recently met with FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs, Burroughs said in another LinkedIn post. "Administrator Barrs and his team are committed to improving highway safety, and they are focused on action—not rhetoric," he added.
Both the TIA and C.H. Robinson Worldwide made arguments in the case, saying that interstate commerce regulation protects brokers. But the high court determined a broker can potentially be found negligent in its carrier selection.
The conflict was tied to C.H. Robinson brokering a load that a victim says was negligently selected, leading to a tragic crash. Victim Shawn Montgomery, a truck driver not involved in the brokered freight, needed his leg to be amputated following the crash, among other injuries.
TIA said it strongly supports requirements to enhance roadway safety, adding that a “clear federal safety selection standard will improve safety outcomes across the transportation industry, reduce confusion, and provide brokers and shippers with consistent, reliable criteria.”
Leading broker changes its carrier criteria
C.H. Robinson meanwhile has adjusted its operating practices in response to the case, requiring carriers to up their minimum coverage from $100,000 to $1 million and have an FMCSA status of unrated or satisfactory. The company also said it will not consider carriers it deems “high risk,” based on an analysis that includes federal Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories data.
“Notifications to carriers who are no longer certified to haul freight for C.H. Robinson under these criteria began going out on May 21st,” the broker said, adding that affected less than 1% of its annual North American truckload volume.
According to data from C.H. Robinson’s most recent annual report, its North American Surface Transportation segment, which primarily involves TL and LTL, represented 71% of the company’s revenue in 2025. The company delivers 37 million shipments annually, per its website.
C.H. Robinson Chief Legal Officer Dorothy Capers said in an email the case gives clarity that the business sought on whether freight brokers would be governed by a clear, nationally consistent safety framework or a patchwork of standards from 50 states.
“What doesn’t change — and will never change — is that safety is a core principle,” Capers said. “That’s why our standards already exceeded legal requirements before the Montgomery decision, and why we implemented new safety measures within a week after the ruling.”
