Opinion: Honest, Ethical Brokers

It is unfortunate when the unethical behavior of one or two members of an industry can ruin the image of the rest of the industry. The Jan. 18 issue of Transport Topics featured an article titled, “Let The Hauler Beware.” The article exposed the actions of a broker that hid language in its contract that was unfair to carriers.

The issue first came to my attention last year when DAT Services called me to ask if this was the type of ethical behavior that the Transportation Intermediaries Association promotes, and I told the company it was not. Nor was the involved broker a member of TIA. Unfortunately, the stories about good brokers, like stories about good truck drivers, are rarely printed.

Ethical brokers seeking to form an association of like-minded companies created the Transportation Brokers Conference of America 21 years ago. About six years ago, the association expanded and changed its name to TIA in recognition of the services offered by our membership.

Today TIA has 700 members, all of whom pledged to adhere to a national code of ethics. We maintain a peer review panel to review complaints about our members. In the 20 months that I have been the executive director of TIA, we have received two complaints about members. Both of these were resolved by the peer review panel in the carriers’ favor. During this same period, we received nearly 60 complaints about non-members. These we forwarded to the Federal Highway Administration, and copies of the complaints were placed in our files in case those intermediaries someday seek admission into TIA.

Most carriers know that transportation intermediaries bring value to the transaction. Using the right intermediary, however, is important. That’s where TIA can help. Our code of ethics is intended to protect shippers and carriers. In addition to the code of ethics, TIA members maintain a high commitment to continuing education.

The members of TIA include brokers, forwarders, intermodal marketing companies, logistics management companies, motor carriers, perishable commodity brokers, international forwarders, and NVOCCs. TIA maintains a searchable database of our members and the services they offer on the Web at www.tianet.org. This listing is open to shippers and carriers for free. We also publish a paper listing of our members.

Our members support motor carriers and know that the vast majority of them are good, safe, honest businesses moving the nation’s freight. While there are bad carriers, we do not let them spoil the bunch. We hope that the carriers recognize the same thing about brokers and other transportation intermediaries.

Mr. Voltmann is executive director of the Transportation Intermediaries Association in Alexandria, Va. TIA can be reached at 703-329-1894.