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A federal appeals court denied a request to postpone enforcement of a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration rule that would increase to $75,000 from $10,000 the minimum amount of a surety bond the businesses must carry.

Freight brokers’ truckload profit margins are under growing pressure, which is helping trucking fleets gain some pricing power, industry officials said.

A federal magistrate granted a request Oct. 17 by the Association of Independent Property Brokers and Agents to lift a stay in the group’s lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The Association of Independent Property Brokers and Agents asked a federal district court Oct. 15 to remove its stay on the group’s lawsuit against the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said it will provide additional time for freight brokers to supply proof they’ve increased their minimum surety bonds to $75,000 from $10,000.

Hellman & Friedman LLC has agreed to buy Hub International Inc. in a transaction that values the insurance broker at about $4.4 billion, Bloomberg News reported.

The Association of Independent Property Brokers & Agents has filed a federal lawsuit claiming a requirement to increase broker bonds to $75,000 from $10,000 violates the Fifth Amendment right to due process.

In today’s America, money wins out over sound judgment, and politics are used by powerful lobbies to secure laws and regulations favorable to them and their interests.   Take, for example, the $75,000 property broker bond, commonly referred to as the “freight broker” bond.

Carriers that seek the ability to “rebroker” freight without separate broker authority and bond will keep the door open to marketplace fraud and nonpayment. Worse still, the practice will expose carriers to the ever-increasing risk of liability for accidents they did not cause.

The founders of freight brokerage Partage LLC said they have launched an automated, Web-based brokerage service that allows shippers to enter their load information, get a final rate on the spot and book capacity without speaking to a broker.