Montgomery ruling raises need for human brokers amid AI-driven load growth
In May, a unanimous Supreme Court decision in Montgomery vs. Caribe Transport II stripped a key defense brokers use against liability and negligence claims. Beth Carroll, CEO of Prosperio Group, said the ruling adds another whole layer on top of existing pressures on brokers.
Carroll said most brokers measure performance in loads per day, a metric that AI could push sharply higher for those who master the technology.
On straight‑commission plans, she warned, pay would rise at the same rate as productivity unless an adjustment factor is introduced.
She argued that human judgment and compliance controls will remain essential because brokers cannot defend AI‑made booking choices in court.
“another whole layer on top of everything,” Beth Carroll, CEO of Prosperio Group said.
“You’re not going to stand up in court and say, well, how did this truck get booked that you know ended up killing people?” Beth Carroll, CEO of Prosperio Group said.
Naperville, Illinois–In a day-long conference devoted to the business of logistics mergers and acquisitions, and the markets those companies serve, a guest that wasn’t on the attendee list or the agenda showed up unexpectedly: Montgomery vs. Caribe Transport II. Logisyn is a leading M&A advisor in logistics. Instead, its significance was raised in a discussion by Beth Carroll, CEO of the Prosperio Group. She was on a panel focused on developing and keeping talent.
What we know
Montgomery vs. Caribe Transport II, in a unanimous Supreme Court decision in May, stripped away a key defense brokers have used to protect themselves from liability and negligence claims for many years.
Carroll said most brokers think in terms of loads per day. “That’s a common metric that is used,” she said.
But with AI at 3PLs raising the prospect of loads per day rising sharply for those who master its capabilities, that could create issues with compensation, Carroll said, calling it “a problem that is coming fast for them.”
“Productivity is going to increase, and on straight commission plans, that means pay is going to increase at the exact same rate, unless something is done to change it,” Carroll said.
What will be needed, she said, is an “adjustment factor,” because a company is going to need to tell its brokers on straight commission that “we’re not going to be able to pay you for your gross margin, because