Business groups are urging the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to implement reforms following a Supreme Court ruling that expands brokers' legal risk when selecting unsafe motor carriers.

Groups including the Small Business in Transportation Coalition (SBTC) and the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA) say the consequences of rulings such as Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II require federal intervention. Otherwise, brokers may overreact and avoid safe carriers due to limited public information.

"The determination of which motor carriers are safe should rest with the federal government," TIA said in its petition.

Carriers may face adverse screening, groups say

Industry groups note that since roughly nine out of ten carriers lack an FMCSA safety rating, brokers may avoid unrated industry players following the Supreme Court ruling.

"This puts brokers and shippers in a difficult position, effectively acting as the agency's enforcement arm—making critical safety decisions in the absence of clear federal standards or adequate regulatory guidance," TIA President and CEO Chris Burroughs said in a LinkedIn post.

In its rulemaking petition, SBTC said property "brokers are likely to next discriminate against motor carriers that do not have a 'satisfactory' rating," with unrated status involving 97% of motor carriers.

SBTC called for emergency rulemaking requiring FMCSA to issue a satisfactory safety rating by default after a new entrant's safety audit is successful.

"This would allow new entrant carriers to avoid discrimination from shippers and brokers from the start due to fears of being accused of hiring 'unsafe' carriers," SBTC said in its petition.

Broker groups call for federal standards and a 'high-risk' list

TIA also asked the agency to establish federal selection criteria for brokers and shippers to evaluate whether a carrier is safe. The group suggested using criteria such as whether a carrier has been deemed "unfit to operate" or "placed out of service."

TIA also requested that FMCSA provide a list of motor carriers considered "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 rather than words," he added.

TIA and C.H. Robinson Worldwide both argued in the case that interstate commerce regulations protect brokers. But the Supreme Court ruled that brokers can be found negligent for their carrier selections.

The dispute relates to a shipment brokered by C.H. Robinson, which the victim claimed was negligently selected, leading to a tragic accident. The victim, Shawn Montgomery, a truck driver not involved in the brokered shipment, required amputations and suffered other injuries after the accident.

TIA said it strongly supports requirements that enhance road safety, adding that "clear federal safety selection criteria would improve safety outcomes across the transportation industry, reduce confusion, and provide consistent, reliable standards for brokers and shippers."

Leading broker changes its carrier standards

Meanwhile, C.H. Robinson has adjusted its operational practices in response to the case, requiring carriers to raise their minimum insurance coverage from $100,000 to $1 million and to have an FMCSA status of unrated or satisfactory. The company also said it will not consider carriers it deems "high risk," an analysis based on data including federal behavior analysis and safety improvement category data.

"Notifications to carriers that are no longer eligible to haul freight for C.H. Robinson under these standards began going out on May 21," the brokerage said, adding that this affects less than 1% of its annual North American truckload volume.

According to data from C.H. Robinson's latest annual report, its North American surface transportation segment, which primarily involves truckload and less-than-truckload, accounted for 71% of the company's revenue in 2025. The company delivers 37 million shipments annually, according to its website.

C.H. Robinson Chief Legal Officer Dorothy Capers said in an email that the case provided the clarity the company sought on whether freight brokers would be subject to a clear, nationally consistent safety framework or a patchwork of 50 state standards.

"What has not changed—and will never change—is that safety is a core principle," Capers said. "That is why our standards already exceeded legal requirements before the Montgomery ruling, and why we implemented new safety measures within a week of the decision."