Car hauler or auto transport broker: what dealers should know.

1. 01

   You get a quote

   The broker quotes a price for the move. It is an estimate of what a carrier will accept, not a truck with your car's name on it.

2. 02

   The job goes on a load board

   The broker posts the vehicle, the route and a carrier-pay figure to a board that car haulers watch for loads.

3. 03

   A carrier accepts it

   A carrier with room on that lane takes the job at the posted pay, or asks for more. If nobody bites, the posted pay goes up, and so, often, does your price.

4. 04

   The broker keeps the spread

   The difference between what you pay and what the carrier is paid is the broker's fee. That is how a broker earns a living, and there is nothing wrong with it as long as it is disclosed.

FMCSA defines a broker as a business that, for compensation, arranges the transportation of property by an authorized motor carrier (49 CFR 371.2). In FMCSA’s own summary of the types of operating authority, a broker does not assume responsibility for the property and never takes possession of it.

• One party is responsibleThe company you called is the company whose truck and driver have the car. There is no one else to point at, and no one else to wait on.
• Dispatch knows the truckAsk where the car is and dispatch can call the driver. A broker usually has to call the carrier, who then calls the driver.
• Carmack liability sits with the carrierUnder the Carmack Amendment the motor carrier is liable for damage to cargo in its custody. Book the carrier directly and the company liable for the car is the company you have the agreement with.
• The price is not marked up twiceA load that passes from one broker to another, or from a broker to a dispatch service, can pick up a margin at each hand. A direct price has one margin in it: the carrier's.

The longer version of this argument, and what it looks like with us, is on why book the carrier directly.

• A one-off long move on a lane no carrier you know runs. A broker with a wide carrier network can find the truck faster than you can.
• An odd origin or destination far from any carrier's regular route.
• Equipment you have no carrier for — an enclosed trailer for a collector car, or a lowboy for a piece of equipment.
• A surge bigger than your regular carriers can cover that week.

A good broker earns its fee in those cases. The problems come from brokers who blur the fact that they are brokers, quote a price no carrier will accept, or hand the job to another broker. Federal rules are clear on the first of those: a broker may not represent its operation as a carrier, and its advertising must show that it is a broker (49 CFR 371.7).

1. 01

   Look up the authority on SAFER

   Search the MC or USDOT number at safer.fmcsa.dot.gov. The Entity Type line reads CARRIER, BROKER, or both. The Operating Authority Status reads Motor Carrier of Property for a carrier and Broker of Property for a broker. A carrier also shows a count of power units; a pure broker usually shows none.

2. 02

   Ask: do you own the truck?

   Ask whose truck and whose driver will have the car. A carrier can answer on the spot. A broker will say it will assign a carrier, which is an honest answer if it is given up front.

3. 03

   Read the name on the bill of lading

   The company named as carrier on the bill of lading is the one hauling the car. If it is not the company you booked, you booked a broker, or your broker handed the job on.