There’s plenty of room for you to start and grow a profitable business serving the industry as a freight broker and JST Truck Permits can help you in every step involved in the business registration and successful setup. Contact us to make a move now.
First of all let us understand, what is a freight broker? If we put it in simple words, A freight broker is a transportation intermediary between a shipper who has goods to transport and a motor carrier who has the capacity to move that freight.
Robert A. Voltmann, executive director and CEO of the Transportation Intermediaries Association said “Transportation intermediaries leverage their knowledge, investment in technology, and people resources to help both the shipper and carrier succeed”.
Brokers provide a really important and helpful service to motor carriers and shippers. They help carriers load the trucks and earn a commission for their efforts and on the other hand, they enable shippers to find trustworthy motor carriers that shippers might not have known otherwise. Some organizations also use brokers as their traffic department, allowing the broker to harmonize all their shipping needs.
Being a broker is not a new thing at all, the freight broker business started since the industry itself began in the early 20th century. Before the 1970s, however, there were many constraints that very few firms were willing to even try to acquire entry into the freight broker industry. But with surprising modifications in federal transportation policy during the 1970s, regulatory limitations have eased, creating new entrepreneurial possibilities in the third-party logistics arena.
The Players
The freight broker industry is so massive that it requires a vast range of key role players to succeed. You need to understand these terms before starting a freight broker business. Let’s have a look at who the key players are and what they do.
- Freight broker. A freight broker is a middleman who brings together a shipper that needs to transport goods with an approved motor carrier that wants to provide the service.
- Shipper. A shipper is an individual or a business that has goods to transport.
- Motor carrier. A motor carrier is a firm that provides truck transportation to move goods from source to destination.
- Freight forwarder. People confuse this player with freight brokers pretty often, freight forwarders are significantly different. Forwarders typically take control of the goods, consolidate multiple smaller shipments into one large shipment, then arrange for transport of that larger shipment using various shipping methods, including land, air, and water carriers.
- Import-export broker. These people are facilitators for importers and exporters. Import-export brokers interface with U.S. Customs, other state agencies, international carriers, and other organizations that are involved in international freight transportation.
- Agricultural truck broker. These are normally small and working in one area of the country, unregulated agricultural truck brokers arrange motor carrier services for the exempt agricultural products.
Our Experience in Freight business licensing
JST truck permits have been in the trucking business for the last 10 years and our experience says, if you are willing to set up your own freight broker business we recommend working in the industry – for a shipper or a carrier or both before starting your brokerage business.
You’ll not only gain technical expertise by doing so, but you’ll make contacts that are critical to success in this business. Which is the most important part of your business.
Some brokers may also opt to use agents to develop a wider scope of operations and build more business. In this scenario, agents are independent contractors who represent a freight broker in a given area/city/state. This would enable you to showcase a local presence in various locations even if you have just started your business.
To get a freight broker license, please get in touch now.