The fraudulent tactic, long a nagging problem in trucking, has gained momentum in the past two years as the business of matching loads to trucks has moved online and heated competition for shipments has cut short the time spent checking the backgrounds of businesses.
“We consider this really a threat to the way of doing business,” said Anne Reinke, chief executive of the Transportation Intermediaries Association, an Alexandria, Va.-based trade group representing freight brokers. “How can a shipper trust either a carrier or a broker if they’re not sure their shipment is going to get to where it’s going to go?”Top news and in-depth analysis on the world of logistics, from supply chain to transport and technology.
“It’s a very difficult environment, and so they’re on the hairy edge of profitability anyway,” Mr. Hopper said. “When they get a hit like this, it can be the determinant of, ‘Do I stay in business or not?’”