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High-value loads catch military hauler’s attention
Contract award amounts raise suspicion of fradulent activity
A business development manager and a colleague who interact with military freight operations began noticing irregularities in 2024. (XiXinXing/Getty Images)
Key Takeaways:
- Transportation company employees documented alleged military freight irregularities beginning in 2024, including shipments bypassing GFMS and brokers receiving unusually high rates.
- ATA said one broker received 28 loads above $5,000 each, then offered them to carriers for about $1,800, raising security and accountability concerns.
- ATA urged Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to address alleged bidding and compliance failures, while industry representatives sought stronger audits and accountability from military officials.
Staff at a transportation company that handles military freight said unusual broker awards and a lack of transparency in the bidding process for these sensitive shipments prompted them to begin documenting the types of oversight problems that are now drawing wider scrutiny.
A business development manager and a colleague who interact with military freight operations began noticing irregularities in 2024, including loads awarded at rates that far outstrip those typically offered by compliant, asset-based carriers.
“It was over $5,000 to go from Fort Polk, La., to San Antonio, Texas; 408 miles for a legal flatbed step deck [trailer], which is unheard of rates,” said the manager, citing one example. “I was like, ‘No, that’s probably like three [trucks].’ ”
He added, “We never even saw this to bid on it.”
The manager, who asked to remain anonymous, pointed to this example as part of a pattern of loads that were not put out for bid and brokers receiving large numbers of shipments at unusually high rates.
The issue has the attention of American Trucking Associations, which recently sent a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth outlining apparent problems it has identified in military freight movements. ATA alleged in the Aug. 27 letter that brokers lacking valid Department of Transportation operating authority and required insurance are operating outside established bidding processes and being awarded shipments.
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. (Matias Delacroix/Associated Press)
The employee — whose company is an ATA member — said a later review found the shipment had not been booked through the Global Freight Management system (GFMS), which plans and tracks shipments for DOD transportation officers. He said further scrutiny of the cited example uncovered how the broker was repeating the cycle.
“That one broker got 28 loads at those super high rates, and then they’re brokering them out to carriers like [my company] for like $1,800. So they’re pocketing the difference from $1,800 to over $5,000,” he said.
ATA said the issue threatens security and supply chain integrity. The transportation company employee said it also raises questions about taxpayer spending and accountability.
ATA in a 2024 presentation provided to U.S. Transportation Command outlined what it described as “challenges and observations” with brokering of military loads. Among the concerns listed in the presentation, a copy of which was obtained by Transport Topics, were transportation officers allegedly not offering or awarding freight transparently or in accordance with policy; brokers not appearing in GFMS records; carriers receiving freight volumes beyond their apparent capacity; and limited recourse for carriers that lost opportunities to higher-cost providers. The presentation argued those practices contributed to higher transportation costs and lost business opportunities.
Three companies that received $7.1 million in revenue from freight awarded outside GFMS — Hauling for Heroes, Expedited Transport and Unit Move Logistics — were all connected to one person who was listed as a point of contact for government business for one, as a partner for another and an owner for the other. Transport Topics did not receive responses to requests for comment. Phone calls also went unanswered.
The presentation also cited cases in which freight tenders were canceled and later moved at higher rates. In some instances, a carrier bill of lading was created after a tender had been canceled. The government is required to audit freight awards, but Mike Matousek, executive director of ATA’s government freight conference, told Transport Topics recently that he does not believe the audits are as rigorous as they could be.
He said ATA has repeatedly raised these concerns with the U.S. Army Transportation Command (Artrans).
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Matousek
“Our approach from the beginning has been to work with Artrans. The lack of cooperation from Artrans just hasn’t been great,” Matousek said.
The business development manager said a lack of transparency can create security concerns.
“They could be moving anything, and nobody knows because it’s not put out for bid, and you can’t go back and see what the commercial bill ratings are. But we all know that who they’re hauling for has all kinds of stuff that needs to have the security,” he said.
He added that he hopes those responsible for violating policies will face consequences.
“The people that are intentionally doing the wrong thing, I think they should be held accountable,” he said.
