Broker Transparency: Using 49 CFR 371.3(c) — and Saying “No” to Cheap Freight

Bottom line: federal rules already give carriers the right to review a broker’s transaction record for a load. Use it. Pair that with knowing your cost per mile and refusing money‑losing freight, and you stop being easy to push around.

Quick takeaways

·       Your rights today: each party involved in a brokered transaction has the right to review the broker’s record of that transaction, including amounts paid and who paid them (49 CFR 371.3(c)).

·       What’s in the record: broker compensation for the load, non‑brokerage charges, freight charges collected, and the date the broker paid the carrier. Brokers must keep these records for 3 years.

·       What’s changing: FMCSA has proposed updates to require electronic records and to make brokers supply them within 48 hours of request. No automatic disclosure yet; FMCSA discussed retaliation/blacklisting concerns and asked for comments. The rule is still in the proposal stage.

·       Your job: know your true cost per mile. If a rate doesn’t allow for profitability, decline it. There is no “make it up on volume” in trucking.

·       Normalize transparency requests: With only one carrier asking, they can be singled out. If we have all or most carriers asking, turns it into routine compliance. Plus once they realize that they aren't going to be able to use blacklisting as a threat. That will stop. If they blacklist us all who will they have haul their freight?

What 49 CFR 371.3(c) actually says

The law is short and plain: “Each party to a brokered transaction has the right to review the record of the transaction required to be kept by these rules.” That record must show, among other items, the broker’s compensation for brokerage service, any non‑brokerage charges, freight charges collected, and the date the broker paid the carrier. Brokers must retain these records for three years.

Key clarifications:

·       This is not public disclosure; it’s transparency only to the parties to the load.

·       FMCSA’s current proposal would make brokers keep records electronically and provide them within 48 hours on request. The agency considered automatic disclosure and a ban on waivers but did not include those in the proposal.

·       Status check (as of October 5, 2025): This remains a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking; FMCSA reopened the comment period on February 18, 2025. Your current 371.3(c) right already exists.

Your responsibility: know your cost per mile

You can’t price what you don’t measure. Set your floor rate so you can say a clean “no” when a load doesn’t clear it.

A simple, conservative example

Assumptions:

·       100,000 total miles/year

·       15% empty miles (85% loaded)

·       Diesel $3.45/gal, 6 mpg

Per‑mile costs:

·       Fixed costs (truck, insurance, permits, ELD, admin): $0.52

·       Tractor payment: $0.25

·       Trailer payment: $0.07

·       Fuel: $4.00 ÷ 6.5 mpg = $0.62

·       Maintenance (tractor and trailer) : $0.42

·       Tires: $0.054

·       Tolls/misc.: $0.02

Cost per total mile: 0.52 + 0.25+ 0.07+0.62 + 0.42 + 0.054 + 0.025 = $1.959

Adjust for 15% empty miles: $1.959 ÷ 0.85 = $2.304  per loaded mile (break‑even before paying yourself).

If you want to pay yourself $0.60 per total mile, add it before the empty‑mile adjustment:

• $1.959 + $0.60 = $2.559; $2.559 ÷ 0.85 = $3.01 per loaded mile target.

That’s your walk‑away line for this scenario. If the offer is $2.50 on that lane, you already know the answer.

Tips that protect your company:

·       Price by time as well as miles (detention, congestion, warehouse delays).

·       Figure in deadhead and backhaul reality.

·       Don’t subsidize shippers’ payment terms. If you’re floating receivables, price the cash cost.

How to request 371.3(c) transparency the right way

Use calm, repeatable process language. Do it every time, after the load is complete.

Template

Subject: 49 CFR 371.3(c) — Request for transaction record (Load #____, PU //__)

Hello [Broker Name],

As a party to this brokered transaction, we’re exercising our right under 49 CFR 371.3(c) to review the record for Load #____. Please provide the following electronically:

• Amount paid by the shipper for the shipment

• Broker compensation and any other amounts connected to the shipment

• Name of payer(s)

• Amount of freight charges collected and date of payment to the carrier

Send to: [Email]. Thank you.

If the broker replies “We can only show it in our office”: the proposal specifically targets that tactic by pushing electronic records and prompt provision on request. You’re not asking for trade secrets to be posted on the internet; you’re asking for your transaction’s record.

If the broker says “Our NDA/contract forbids sharing”: confidentiality doesn’t override regulatory obligations to the parties to the transaction.

“But won’t they blacklist me?”

FMCSA explicitly discussed retaliation/blacklisting concerns when it evaluated automatic disclosure. It didn’t adopt automatic disclosure, but it acknowledged the risk and asked for further comment. Translation: the agency knows this happens.

What you can do that actually works:

·       Normalize the request. Ask for 371.3(c) records after every load. When many carriers do it, selective retaliation gets harder to sustain.

·       Keep it boring and procedural. Use the same template, same mailbox, same cadence.

·       Document refusal/delay. Save emails. If the broker won’t comply, file a complaint with FMCSA’s National Consumer Complaint Database (NCCDB) under “property broker.”

Myths vs. facts (fast)

Myth: “Only the shipper can see the numbers.”

Fact: 371.3(c) says each party to the brokered transaction, which includes the carrier.

Myth: “Come to our office if you want to look.”

Fact: FMCSA’s proposal is aimed at electronic records and prompt electronic provision to stop that runaround.

Myth: “You waived your rights in the carrier packet.”

Fact: FMCSA considered a ban on waivers but didn’t include it in the proposal. The debate continues. Either way, you can and should refuse future waiver language and insist on 371.3(c) compliance.

Myth: “Asking makes you a problem carrier.”

Fact: The agency directly flagged concerns about retaliation; widespread, routine requests make it harder to target one carrier.

Make this your standard operating procedure

1.     Quote from your floor up, not from the board down.

2.     Request 371.3(c) records after each completed load, via a single dedicated email.

3.     Calendar a 3‑day follow‑up if nothing arrives.

4.     Escalate persistent refusals to FMCSA via NCCDB with documentation.

Compliance note for brokers who actually want to do this right

·       Keep electronic transaction records.

·       Be ready to provide them within 48 hours of a party’s request if the proposal is finalized as written.

·       Remember: transparency here is not public; it’s between the parties. Plan for confidential delivery.

This article is general information, not legal advice. If you need legal counsel for a specific dispute or contract term, talk to a qualified attorney.

References

Electronic Code of Federal Regulations. (2025). 49 C.F.R. § 371.3 Records to be kept by brokers. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-III/subchapter-B/part-371/subpart-A/section-371.3

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. (2024, November 20). Transparency in property broker transactions. Federal Register, 89 FR 91648–91670. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/11/20/2024-27115/transparency-in-property-broker-transactions

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. (2025, February 18). Transparency in property broker transactions; Reopening of comment period. Federal Register, 90 FR 9702–9703. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/02/18/2025-02707/transparency-in-property-broker-transactions

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. (2025, September 24). How to file a complaint. https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/consumer-protection/how-file-complaint

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. (2025, September 24). Eligible complaints. https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/consumer-protection/eligible-complaints