Many trucking businesses depend on the spot freight market for the revenues that are their lifeblood. While contracts with familiar, reliable customers can provide steady loads at dependable rates, using the spot market to find additional work can be lucrative — for those who know how to protect themselves from the pitfalls.
One of those pitfalls is double brokering.
Brokers are the backbone of the spot market. Shippers that may not have enough business to attract the attention of carriers who want to be obligated to contracts often use brokers to find trucks (and drivers) to haul their products. Brokers find carriers with good safety records, financial stability and performance history and arrange for the load to be hauled, in exchange for a percentage of the load revenue.
Like any business, however, there are honest, trustworthy players … and then there are the “other” kind.
The other kind sometimes engage in double brokering. This illegal practice occurs when a broker or carrier misrepresents its role in the process. For example, a broker may contract with a shipper to move a load — and then engage another broker to do the work without the customer’s knowledge. Or a broker may pose as a carrier, agree to haul the load and then pass the load to another carrier.
This causes problems.
The issue is that the customer doesn’t pay each participant individually. The customer pays the broker, who pays the carrier from their revenue. The second broker may arrange to have the cargo stolen, or the first broker might think they’re paying the carrier when in fact they’re paying a second broker who pockets the money without paying the carrier. The second broker then vanishes, while the carrier has no contract with the original broker or the customer.
A major issue of double-brokering is that the load becomes uninsured. If the load is stolen or damaged, the carrier’s insurance is likely to deny a claim if the load was obtained fraudulently. The trucker may have a contract with the second broker, but not with the customer or the broker the customer dealt with.
Is it ever legal to use multiple brokers for a load?
There are times when more than one broker is used — but ONLY with the full knowledge of all parties involved.
One example is when the customer offers a load the broker doesn’t normally handle, perhaps a rare load of hazardous material or an over-dimensional load that requires permits and escorts. The broker may engage another broker who has expertise with that type of freight and has a carrier list of truckers who can safely handle it. Such an arrangement is called co-brokering, and it’s legal, as long as all parties are informed.
It takes diligence to avoid a double brokering situation.
Shelle Lichti, an owner-operator who’s leased to Warrior, Alabama-based Trostel’s Inc., says she’s wary of any loads that look suspicious.
“I encountered a situation a couple of weeks back,” she told The Trucker. “There were two loads on a load board, with two different brokers — but for the same load picking up at the same location, going to the same location.”
After calculating the mileage, Lichti figured she could do both loads in a day, back-to-back.
“I reached out to both brokers and got the rate con (confirmation) and bill of lading,” she continued. “I showed up to the town and waited to contact the number they gave me.
“Just before the business opened, the broker emailed my company canceling us. The other broker just ghosted me,” she continued. “I think they were in cahoots and didn’t count on one driver calling for both loads.”
While it’s difficult to prove that the two loads were actually one load with a double brokering arrangement, Lichti is pretty sure that if she had actually taken the load, she might never have been paid.
Unfortunately, things like this can happen when multiple brokers are involved and the carrier isn’t fully informed.
Unfortunately, fraudulent brokers are out there.
Many brokers are completely legitimate, but others are not so honest. One way Lichte protects her business is by checking out the broker before agreeing to anything.
“I run them through WEX (WEX Capital, a factoring company that provides credit checks). If their numbers are red, I don’t even bother,” she said.
“If they don’t have a rating, I know that they’re new,” she continued. “Within a few short minutes of talking to them, you can usually find out if they’re really new — or whether they’re shady and have started up under a new number.”
Unfortunately, a fraudulent broker can simply go out of business, applying for new authority under a different company name or, perhaps, use another family member’s name to continue the fraud.
Factors can help verify a broker’s legitimacy.
Factoring companies purchase the load invoices from carriers, taking over the task of billing the customer in exchange for a small percentage of the load revenue.
Because they are assuming the collection risk, most factors provide services to carriers to help them make sure the broker they’re dealing with is credible. Most offer credit checks and payment history, a complaint database and information about their authority to operate. Carriers are warned about unscrupulous brokers before they accept loads.
Lichte, who gets most of her loads from load boards, knows that some check out brokers who post loads more carefully than others. And with so many load boards to choose from, it can sometimes feel like a roll of the dice when selecting one.
“Most of them charge for their services and it can get expensive, so choose the ones you can trust,” she advised.
Industry stakeholders hope to correct the issues.
In recent years, a movement to require transparency from brokers has been picking up steam — with some opposition from the brokerage industry.
Although brokers are required by law to share what they’re being paid by a customer, contracts often include clauses that require truckers to waive their rights to the knowledge. They don’t know how much of the load revenue the broker is keeping or whether a fair percentage is being passed to the carrier.
On June 27, 2025, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy released a package of intended actions to benefit the trucking industry that included a “renewal of its focus” on double brokering. Truckers are hoping the result will be a fairer system for all involved.
Cliff Abbott is an experienced commercial vehicle driver and owner-operator who still holds a CDL in his home state of Alabama. In nearly 40 years in trucking, he’s been an instructor and trainer and has managed safety and recruiting operations for several carriers. Having never lost his love of the road, Cliff has written a book and hundreds of songs and has been writing for The Trucker for more than a decade.
