Trucking news and briefs for Monday, Aug. 11, 2025:
IMC Logistics names first COO
IMC Logistics (CCJ Top 250, No. 53) has announced the appointment of Joe Tovo as the company’s first-ever Chief Operating Officer (COO). In this newly created role, Tovo will oversee all core regional drayage operations and customer service operations.
Joe TovoTovo brings decades of experience in the industry and a proven track record of leadership to the position, IMC noted. His career began at DNJ, a family-owned trucking company founded by his parents in the 1970s, which became part of the IMC network in 2010. He also studied mechanical engineering and management information systems at Ohio University.
Tovo currently serves as President of the IMC Logistics Midwest Region. He will continue to manage the Midwest Team while assuming his role as COO.
The addition of a COO will enable IMC’s Executive Team to continually focus on operations, resulting in greater efficiency and optimizing performance company wide.
“There is no one who knows our business, systems and culture better,” said Mark H. George, Chairman of IMC Logistics. “In his new role, Joe will incorporate best practices and standard operating procedures to enhance workflow and productivity, all of which will benefit our valued customers.”
Small fleet petitions FMCSA to amend or clarify ‘broker’ definition, limit SAFER access
Alpha Drivers Transportation (ADT), a Colorado-based three-truck fleet, has petitioned the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to amend or clarify the definition of the term broker in 49 CFR 371.2 to also include dispatching services, and to limit access to the agency’s Safety and Fitness Electronic Records (SAFER) system. Petitions for rulemaking are reviewed by FMCSA and either granted for further action or denied.
ADT Vice President Alec Costerus, in filing the petition with FMCSA, said that because motor carriers’ contact information is publicly posted on the SAFER system, “FMCSA registrants are needlessly and excessively bombarded with emails, phone calls, and text messages by freight dispatchers, in an apparent work-around to avoid being subject to Brokers’ requirements.”
This is despite a warning on the SAFER website that notes “Unauthorized or improper use of this system is prohibited, and may result in civil and criminal penalties,” along with a consent agreement.
By posting FMCSA registrants’ contact information, Costerus said “FMCSA is an unwitting partner in these abusive, if not illegal, actions.” As such, he and ADT are calling “for FMCSA to shut down this unrestricted access to would-be evildoers.”
The petition added that the freight dispatchers bombarding carriers with various communications are “unregistered without a bond, without any prior commercial relationship” to the carriers being contacted. The “overwhelming proportion speak of foreign native tongues (offshore fraud?), utilizing spoofed telephone numbers. If it acts like a broker, negotiates freight, interacts with shippers and other brokers, and receives compensation therefor, and by all accounts acts as a type of freight intermediary, these dispatchers should have to adhere to and comply with industry standards to which brokers are held, i.e., insurance bonds and FMCSA registration as a broker.”
ADT’s petition also said having open access to the SAFER system has opened the door to would-be freight fraudsters to get carriers’ contact information.
To address these issues, ADT is asking FMCSA to do the following:
- Amend the definition of “broker” in 371.2 to include “dispatcher”
- Require dispatching services who would then meet the definition of “broker” be subject to the regulatory requirements of a broker, including but not limited to, obtaining a surety bond
- Make company contact data private and generally inaccessible to the general public. FMCSA should require database users to proactively certify that the use of such information is not for solicitation of customers with whom a prior business relationship does not exist.
- Give registrants the ability to opt-in or opt-out of solicitous contacts, where the default would be opt-out
- Fine violators a minimum of $1,000 per contact and establish an enforcement policy and procedure for reporting such violations
Nebraska troopers find 212 violations during 41 inspections
Troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol (NSP) Carrier Enforcement Division conducted local commercial vehicle inspections on Wednesday, Aug. 6, in Buffalo County.
During this effort, the Metropolitan Aggressive and Prevention Selective (MAPS) Team conducted 41 vehicle inspections, during which they discovered 212 violations of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and state law. Troopers placed 17 vehicles and two drivers out of service.
Vehicles are placed out of service for a variety of reasons relating to bad brakes or tires, or other problems that pose immediate safety risks. Troopers issued a total of 28 citations during the inspections. During the inspections, troopers also issued a total of 9 CVSA decals, indicating that the vehicle did not have any immediate safety issues.
The effort focused on commercial vehicles that may not pass through weigh stations as part of their regular routes.
