CMT launches safety platform for freight brokers
Cambridge Mobile Telematics launched Freight Safety Intelligence on Sept. 2, giving freight brokers access to 90-day carrier driving behavior scores validated against accident risk. Timing follows a May Supreme Court ruling (Montgomery v. Caribe Transport) exposing brokers to negligent carrier-selection lawsuits under state law.
Post-Supreme Court liability exposure is accelerating data-driven carrier vetting, part of a broader regulatory tightening in freight that could raise logistics costs for brands dependent on spot markets or small regional carriers.
This is a freight broker compliance tool, not a seller tool — but brands relying on spot freight or small brokers may see carrier pools narrow as brokers cut low-scoring carriers to reduce legal exposure. If your 3PL or freight broker tightens carrier standards, expect capacity constraints and rate increases on lanes where small carriers dominate.
Operational Impact
This story may require teams to revisit workflows, monitoring, or platform assumptions.
Bottom Line
Broker liability shift may shrink carrier pools, pressuring freight rates for sellers.
Source Lens
Industry Context
Useful background context, but lower-priority than direct platform, community, or operator intelligence.
Impact Level
low
Broker liability shift may shrink carrier pools, pressuring freight rates for sellers.
Key Stat / Trigger
94% of interstate freight carriers eligible for a federal safety rating had none in 2021.
Focus on the operational implication, not just the headline.
Full Coverage
Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT) has expanded its road safety platform into the freight industry, giving brokers access to recent driving data from participating carriers. On Sept. 2, the company announced the launch of Freight Safety Intelligence, which analyzes driving behavior from the previous 90 days and generates a carrier-level safety score.
CMT said the score is designed to give brokers another way to evaluate carriers before booking freight, while allowing participating carriers to demonstrate recent safety performance. The platform uses data from carriers’ existing telematics systems rather than requiring them to install new hardware, according to CMT.
Carriers have the choice to opt in to the program and they control what specific information they share. CMT said its analysis of the previous 90 days of driving is used to generate a safety score that has been validated against actual accident risk. The company did not disclose details of the validation methodology in its announcement.
“With CMT’s Freight Safety Intelligence, we can see real safety insights for every carrier before we book, identify the safest carriers, and open more doors for them,” said Brad Bergstrom, CEO of B4 Logistics. The launch also comes after a recent Supreme Court ruling involving broker responsibility for carrier selection.
In May, the court ruled in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, LLC that a lawsuit alleging a broker negligently selected a motor carrier could move forward under state law. The case involved C. H. Robinson and a crash in Illinois.
The ruling does not require brokers to use a specific screening system, but it leaves brokers open to negligent-selection claims tied to carrier safety. The ruling puts additional focus on the information brokers use when deciding which carriers to book, which is especially important as large trucks are involved in thousands of crashes per year.
In 2024, 5,218 large trucks were involved in crashes that resulted in a fatality in the U. S. , according to the National Safety Council. That was down 3% from 2023 but up 30% from 2014. CMT said traditional safety records do not always provide brokers with a current picture of how a carrier is driving.
“Freight brokers need a more current, data-driven view of carrier safety,” said William V. Powers, CEO of CMT. “Freight Safety Intelligence gives freight brokers the most current view of driving safety of the carriers they book.”
The company cited Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) data showing that about 94 percent of interstate freight carriers eligible for a federal safety rating did not have one in 2021. The absence of a federal safety rating does not mean a carrier has been determined to be unsafe.
FMCSA safety ratings are issued following certain compliance reviews and can be classified as satisfactory, conditional or unsatisfactory. Freight brokers already use information such as FMCSA records, insurance status, operating history and other carrier data when evaluating whether to book a shipment.
CMT’s platform adds recent driving behavior to those existing sources of information. Freight Safety Intelligence expands CMT’s existing work with commercial fleets. The company launched its DriveWell Fleet platform earlier this year to provide telematics-based safety information to commercial fleets and insurers.
Why this matters: Brokers rely on safety records, insurance information, operating history and other data when deciding which carriers to book, but some of that information may not reflect a carrier’s most recent driving behavior.
CMT’s platform adds recent telematics data to the carrier-selection process, giving brokers another source of information when evaluating safety performance. The post CMT launches safety platform for freight brokers appeared first on FreightWaves.
Audit your freight broker agreements in the next 30 days — ask brokers directly if they are adopting new carrier vetting tools that could affect lane availability or pricing.
If you use spot freight for FBA replenishment or DTC fulfillment, build a backup carrier list now before broker-driven carrier attrition tightens capacity.
Original Source
This briefing is based on reporting from Freightwaves. Use the original post for full primary-source context.
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