U.S. business groups are urging the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to implement policy changes following a Supreme Court rulingthat expanded brokers' legal risk when selecting unsafe carriers。

includingthe Small Business in Transportation Coalition (SBTC)andthe Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA)said the fallout from rulings such as Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II requires federal intervention. Otherwise, brokers may overreact due to limited public information and avoid carriers with good safety records.

"The decision of which carriers can be safely used should rightfully belong to the federal government," TIA wrote in its petition.

Industry groups say carriers may face adverse screening

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

"This leaves brokers and shippers in a difficult position, effectively acting as the agency's enforcement arm—making critical safety judgments without clear federal standards or adequate regulatory guidance," TIA President and CEO Chris Burroughs said ina LinkedIn post."

In its rulemaking petition, SBTC said freight brokers "will likely next discriminate against carriers without a 'satisfactory' rating," while about 97% of carriers remain unrated.

SBTC called for an expedited rulemaking requiring FMCSA to grant new entrants a satisfactory safety rating by default after they successfully complete a safety audit.

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

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

TIA also asked FMCSA to establish a set of federal selection criteria for brokers and shippers to assess whether a carrier is safe. The association suggested criteria such as whether a carrier has been deemed "not fit to operate" or "ordered to cease operations."

TIA also requested that FMCSA provide a list of carriers deemed "high-risk."

Burroughs said inanother LinkedIn postthat TIA leadership recently met with FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs. "Administrator Barrs and his team are committed to improving highway safety, and they focus on action rather than talk," he added.

TIA and C.H. Robinson Worldwide both argued in the case that interstate commerce regulations should protect brokers. But the Supreme Court ruled that brokers could be found negligent in their selection of carriers.

The dispute stems from a shipment brokered by C.H. Robinson, with the victim claiming the shipment led to a tragic accident due to improper carrier selection. Victim Shawn Montgomery, a truck driver unrelated to the brokered shipment, had hisleg amputatedand suffered other injuries after the accident.

TIA said it strongly supports the call to 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 adjusts its carrier standards

Meanwhile, C.H. Robinson hasadjusted its operational practicesin response to the ruling, requiring carriers to increase minimum insurance coverage from $100,000 to $1 million and to have an unrated or satisfactory FMCSA status. The company also said it would not consider carriers it deems "high-risk," a determination based on analysis including federal Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASIC) data.

"Carriers no longer eligible to haul for C.H. Robinson under these standards began receiving notices on May 21," the broker said, adding that affected carriers represent less than 1% of its annual North American truckload volume.

According to C.H. Robinson's latestannual reportdata, its North American surface transportation segment (primarily truckload and LTL operations) accounted for 71% of the company's revenue in 2025. According to itswebsite, the company handles 37 million shipments annually.

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

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