Common Carrier / Dispatcher / No Trucks / Broker Authority / Load Boards
I am a retired Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) Investigator with more than 45 years in transportation. For the past 11 years I have been a transportation consultant assisting those who would like to get their own motor carrier or broker authority.
Over the past many months I have enjoyed answering your questions. There have been many questions regarding leasing to a trucking company and who is responsible for what costs and paperwork. There have also been questions regarding getting your own trucking and/or broker authority. Continue sending me your questions regarding any aspect of the trucking/broker industry.
Q:
My husband and I just recently got our own authority (contract), but after talking with people, we were wondering what was all involved with changing to common authority.
A:
You never said why you wanted to change to common carrier authority. If you have already received your contract carrier authority, the only thing left is to reapply for common carrier authority then you would have both authorities. Actually, the only reason I can think of to obtain common carrier authority is for transporting government shipments. The U.S. and state governments require you to have common carrier authority because you must file your cargo insurance, whereas contract carriers do not have to file their cargo insurance with the FMCSA. Both carriers must have cargo insurance, but only common carriers must file their cargo insurance. If you do decide to obtain common carrier authority, your insurance and BOC-3 are already on file and you will not have to refile these.
Q:
I would like to purchase online load services to offer dispatching to owner-operators. As a dispatcher, what are my limitations? I will aim to become a carrier and broker eventually.
A:
As a "dispatcher" with no carrier or broker authority, you are operating ILLEGALLY. No carrier or broker should ever do business with a "dispatcher" who does not have any operating authority. Your limitations in "dispatching" would relate ONLY to some intrastate movements. Also, it would relate ONLY to "dispatching" non-regulated commodities. As far as getting on the better online services, you must have an MC number. Also, owner-operators are individuals or companies that are leased to motor carriers. Owner-operators ARE NOT carriers. Even if you had your broker's license, you would never be able to give loads to owner-operators; you would only be able to give loads to motor carriers and double broker to other brokers.
Q:
I would like to get my own authority, but I do not want to have any trucks. Can I get motor carrier authority without owning any trucks?
A:
There is no regulation anywhere that requires you to have any trucks. Your major problem in getting your authority is to convince your insurance agent that you have no trucks. However, when owner-operators lease to your authority, you will need to provide certain information from each of them to your insurance agent. You will have to provide the basic insurance for your authority. The leasing regulations are governed by Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 376. You can find the regulations by going to your search engine and typing 49 CFR 376.
Q:
I am interested in getting my own broker authority. What is involved and how long will it take?
A:
It will take about three weeks providing you can get your surety bond or trust fund. You should first call your insurance agent and see if he can make a BMC-84 filing with the FMCSA. Or go to your financial institution to see if they can provide you with a BMC-85. Once you know you can get your surety bond or trust fund, then make application with the OP-1.
Q:
I have my own trucking company and I want to get loads from internet load boards. What should I look out for because I do not want to go through brokers?
A:
Most load boards have loads that were put there by brokers. If you do not want to go through brokers, probably you should leave load boards alone. If you are going to use load boards, only use those that have monthly charges for placing or getting loads. If the load board charges per load, you might want to stay clear. If the load board charges per load, chances are they are also brokering, legally or illegally depending on whether or not they also have a broker's license. Also, if this is the case, you must realize the load is double brokered with the possibility that only one "broker" may have a license.
