April 23, 2026 admin

Check Call: Welcome back to your home for weekly 3PL news and analysis


I’m your new host: Malcolm Harris C.H. Robinson on CBS, TIA braces for SCOTUS, and the spot-to-contract squeeze is exposing every over-leveraged brokerage. Margin math is getting brutal.

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This week’s Check Call is all about broker pressure points. A 60 Minutes camera just handed plaintiffs’ lawyers a new weapon. The Supreme Court’s Montgomery v. Caribe decision could land any Friday. And the spot-to-contract spread is tightening fast, squeezing every broker that booked contract freight at last year’s numbers.

Plus: TIA’s new chair calls Montgomery a "tomorrow" problem, and a new benchmark shows top 3PL marketing programs outpacing laggards 40x on pipeline per dollar.

On the Desk

C.H. Robinson safety responsibility

After CBS report, C.H. Robinson seeks to deflect safety responsibility to FMCSA

A 60 Minutes segment put C.H. Robinson at the center of a chameleon-carrier investigation, and the country’s largest broker is pushing the vetting burden back to FMCSA. This is the next nuclear-verdict question for every brokerage: how much liability follows you when a carrier you booked misrepresents its safety history. Plaintiffs’ attorneys already have the tape.

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On the Desk

TIA meeting, brokers brace for Supreme Court decision

At TIA meeting, freight brokers brace for Supreme Court decision

The Transportation Intermediaries Association gathered in Scottsdale with the Montgomery v. Caribe decision hanging overhead. A ruling against brokers would let plaintiffs sue for negligent carrier selection in state court. Insurance underwriters are already watching. New TIA chair Lynn Gravely’s message: prepare for both outcomes, because the brokers who wait for the ruling to start adjusting will already be behind.

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On the Desk

Spot to contract rate spread tests 3PLs

Spot to contract rate spread contraction tests 3PLs

The spot-to-contract spread has compressed hard, and FreightWaves’ Zach Strickland calls it the toughest tape brokers have seen in years. Carriers running $2.30 a mile are getting $2.70 offers elsewhere, leaving brokers covering contract loads at a loss. J.B. Hunt’s ICS revenue rose 20% while margins fell 330 basis points. Flat-margin brokers this quarter are the overachievers.

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Shipper Radar

3PL marketing spend efficiency

3PL marketing spend efficiency diverged dramatically in Q4

A new LeadCoverage benchmark shows the gap between top 3PL marketing programs and the laggards blew out in Q4. The best generated about $200 in pipeline per GTM dollar; the bottom quartile stayed under $8. As the cycle tightens, the brokers winning new shipper business are leaning into intent data, ABM, and paid media, not dialing off a list.

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The Week Ahead

SCOTUS watch: The Supreme Court’s Montgomery v. Caribe ruling on broker liability could drop on any opinion Friday. Get your carrier vetting paper trail organized now. Brokers who wait for the decision to update their playbook will already be behind.

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May 20, 2026 · Cleveland, OH · Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

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That’s your Check Call for the week. See you next Wednesday.

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