Freight Industry's Real Problem: Unenforced Standards, Not Data

Michael Caney, Chief Customer Officer at carrier-identity platform Highway, argued at the FreightWaves Broker Compliance Symposium that the freight industry's persistent fraud problem stems not from insufficient data or tracking, but from a fundamental lack of shared, arbitrated, and enforceable standards. Despite massive investments in tracking technology and data collection, fraud losses continue climbing, suggesting the industry has been treating the symptom rather than the underlying condition. The core issue is that thousands of small data sources (insurance agents, telematics providers, factoring companies) feed brokers unreliable information with minimal accountability, and brokers themselves override rules so frequently that compliance frameworks have become ineffective. Caney outlined three critical gaps preventing fraud reduction: first, the fragmentation of data sources means roughly 40 insurance agents cover half the vehicles while 200 cover only 3 percent, creating inconsistency and unreliability; second, reported carrier performance metrics often misrepresent actual compliance (90 percent reported versus 75 percent verified); and third, brokers lack tools to verify that carriers actually carry the correct insurance for specific loads or commodities.

The uncomfortable reality is that brokers sit at the center of this risk ecosystem, with a $600 million verdict against C.H. Robinson underscoring the cost of ineffective standards enforcement. The path forward, according to Caney, requires a shift from accumulating rules to embedding verified decisions into workflows. Rather than adding more tracking data or compliance rules, the industry needs network-level accountability where telematics providers face de-certification for networks riddled with fraudulent carriers, and carriers lose access for submitting false performance data.

This represents a structural shift in how the freight industry manages risk: from tribal knowledge and cubicle-based sticky notes to automated, context-aware verification powered by enforceable standards. Supply chain teams should recognize that compliance frameworks built on rules alone are insufficient; the companies that establish and enforce shared standards will define competitive advantage in the next decade.