Agency Information Collection Activities; Renewal of an Approved Information Collection: Practices of Household Goods Brokers Publication: Federal Register Agency: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Byline: Thomas P. Keane Date: 23 May 2024 Subjects: American Government , Trucking

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 101 (Thursday, May 23, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45735-45737]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-11316]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2023-0180]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Renewal of an Approved 
Information Collection: Practices of Household Goods Brokers

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), Department 
of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FMCSA 
announces its plan to submit the Information Collection Request (ICR) 
described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review 
and approval. FMCSA requests OMB's renewed approval to the ICR titled 
``Practices of Household Brokers,'' which applies to household goods 
(HHG) brokers who are procured by the public (HHG shippers) to arrange 
the transportation of the shipper's household goods by HHG motor 
carriers. This renewal updates wage related costs that have changed 
since the last approval and revises the previous information collection 
total respondent hourly and cost burden. FMCSA received two comments in 
response to the 60-day Federal Register notice.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be received on or before June 24, 
2024.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this information 
collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--Open for 
Public Comments'' or by using the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donnice Wagoner, Commercial 
Enforcement and Investigations

[[Page 45736]]

Division, DOT, FMCSA, West Building 6th Floor MC-SEI, 1200 New Jersey 
Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001; (202) 366-8045; 
donnice.wagoner@dot.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Practices of Household Goods Brokers.
    OMB Control Number: 2126-0048.
    Type of Request: Renewal of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Brokers of Household Goods.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,256.
    Estimated Time per Response: Varies.
    Expiration Date: May 31, 2024.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 86,488.
    Background:
    As a result of Title IV, Subtitle B of the Safe, Accountable, 
Flexible, Efficient, Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users 
(SAFETEA-LU) (Pub. L. 109-59) and a petition for rulemaking from the 
American Moving and Storage Association, FMCSA amended then-existing 
regulations for brokers in a final rule titled, ``Brokers of Household 
Goods Transportation by Motor Vehicles,'' (75 FR 72987, Nov. 29, 2010), 
in 49 CFR part 371 by providing additional consumer protection 
responsibilities for brokers of HHG.
    Section 4212 of SAFETEA-LU directs the Secretary of Transportation 
to require HHG brokers to provide shippers with information throughout 
the various stages of their interactions with shippers. The following 
phases summarize the information collection required by the HHG broker 
at the various contractual stages by 49 CFR 371.

I. First Phase: ``Prospecting''

    When a HHG shipper is looking to procure a HHG broker's services, 
the broker must collect the following information and display it on its 
websites and solicitation materials:
     Its physical address (Sec.  371.107a);
     Its U.S. DOT license number(s) (Sec.  371.107b);
     A statement indicating it will not transport the shipper's 
goods but will only arrange for goods to be transported by a registered 
motor carrier (Sec.  371.107c);
     If the broker chooses to publish rates on its website or 
solicitation materials, the broker must also publish a statement that 
the rates are based on a motor carrier's publicly available rates 
(Sec.  371.107d);
     If the broker chooses to publish a list of motor carriers 
it works with, the list must be a list only of carriers with which 
brokers have agreements (Sec.  371.107e); and
     Brokers must publish information regarding their 
cancellation policies, including information on deposits and refunds 
(Sec.  371.117a).

II. Second Phase: ``Contact''

    When an HHG shipper makes a reasonable request seeking additional 
information about broker services, the HHG broker must collect the 
following information and distribute it to the HHG shipper:
     A list of carriers it has agreements with (Sec.  
371.109a); and
     A statement indicating the broker is not a carrier and 
that the broker is only arranging transportation of shipper's goods 
(Sec.  371.109b).

III. Third Phase: ``Estimate''

    When an HHG shipper requests an estimate, the broker must collect 
the following information and provide it to the shipper:
     FMCSA's published information material: (1) ``Ready to 
Move? Tips for a Successful Interstate Move'' and (2) ``Your Rights and 
Responsibilities When You Move (2022 Update)'' (Sec.  371.111a1, 2, and 
3);
     A written estimate based on a physical survey of household 
items (Sec.  371.113a) and published carrier rates (Sec.  371.113b); 
and
     If applicable, a ``Waiver'' receipt showing the shipper 
waived their right to a physical survey of their household items (Sec.  
371.113b).
    The broker must obtain a signed document showing that FMCSA's 
published information material was received by the shipper (Sec.  
371.111c).

IV. Fourth Phase: ``Agreement''

    Should the shipper find the estimate(s) and broker services 
reasonable and wish to book the broker's services, the two parties must 
enter into an agreement. At this point it is standard practice for 
shippers to pay a deposit or full payment. Before a deposit is 
collected, the broker must collect the following information and 
distribute it to the HHG shipper:
     An agreement document with required specifications as laid 
out in Sec.  371.115; and
     An agreement document which highlights the broker's and/or 
motor carrier's refund policy for cancelation of agreements (Sec.  
371.117a).

V. Fifth Phase: ``Delivery''

    After the broker confirms delivery of the household goods by the 
carrier, the broker must collect the following information and 
distribute it to the HHG shipper:
     A receipt with transaction data, including cancelation 
details if the agreement was canceled as laid out in Sec.  371.3.
    The complete collection of information, required by the referenced 
regulations, assists shippers in their business dealings with 
interstate HHG brokers. The information collected is used by 
prospective shippers to make informed decisions about contracts, 
services ordered, executed, and settled. The HHG broker is often the 
primary contact for individual shippers and in the best position to 
educate shippers and prepare them for a successful move. The 
information collection is intended to combat deceptive business 
practices and the information helps enforcement personnel better 
protect consumers by verifying that shippers are receiving information 
as required by regulations.
    FMCSA revises the total annual burden to 86,488 hours. This is an 
increase of 13,680 annual burden hours from the currently approved 
72,808 burden estimate. The increase is due to the following:
     FMCSA's records for HHG brokers increased from 652 brokers 
to 1,256 brokers.
    Federal Register Notice and Summary of Public Comments:
    On January 22, 2024, FMCSA published a notice in the Federal 
Register announcing a renewal of an approved ICR regarding the 
practices of HHG brokers. 89 FR 3983 (January 22 Notice). FMCSA sought 
public comment on the ICR and received two comments in response to the 
January 22 Notice.
    On March 22, 2024, the American Trucking Association Moving and 
Storage Conference (ATA-MSC) filed a comment (ATA-MSC comment) in 
response to the January 22 Notice.
    On March 22, 2024, Mayflower Transit, LLC and United Van Lines, 
LLC, together with their hundreds of respective statutory disclosed HHG 
agents around the country (collectively, UniGroup), filed a comment 
(UniGroup comment) in response to the January 22 Notice.
    In their respective comments, ATA-MSC and UniGroup raised concerns 
about the accuracy of the estimated burden. ATA-MSC indicated that 
``while the FMCSA's ``total annual burden'' estimate for ICR is based 
on a total number of 1,256 registered household goods brokers, the ATA-
MSC views the number as falling short of the actual count of entities 
providing household goods brokerage services, as many entities are 
operating without the required registration.'' ATA-MSC comment, at 2. 
UniGroup indicated that ``FMCSA's accounting of the number of

[[Page 45737]]

registered household goods brokers is incomplete, in terms of number of 
household goods brokers operating in the U.S. moving market. The number 
of registered brokers is foundational to the ICR's estimate and as 
such, the ICR's estimate must be considered inaccurate'' (see UniGroup 
comment, at 2).
    In their respective comments, ATA-MSC and UniGroup raised concerns 
about the accuracy of FMCSA's phases summarizing the information 
collection required by the HHG broker at the various contractual stages 
per 49 CFR 371. UniGroup indicated that ``the model for broker/shipper 
interactions described in the ICR is outdated and not consistent with 
current shipper engagement with brokers.'' UniGroup Comment, at 3. ATA-
MSC indicated ``that the various phases used by FMCSA to break down the 
interaction between broker and consumer do not fully represent the 
method of interaction that exists today'' (see ATA-MSC, at 8).
    Additionally, ATA-MSC encouraged FMCSA to ``conduct further 
research into the practices and activities of household goods brokers, 
especially those who are engaging in brokerage activities but are 
failing to register as required under law.'' ATA-MSC comment, at 7. 
UniGroup stated that a ``better understanding of how brokers and moving 
consumers interact in today's digital world will enhance the Quality 
used to create the ICR's estimates and perhaps more importantly, better 
enable FMCSA to protect consumers'' (see UniGroup comment, at 5).
    FMCSA continues to assume a conservative number of non-registered 
entities that conduct HHG brokerage activities to be 12.2 percent of 
the number of registered brokers. Per FMCSA records, if there are 1,119 
registered brokers, then there are a total of 137 non-registered 
entities that conduct HHG brokerage activities (1,119 x 0.122 = 136.5). 
Thus, the total amount of active HHG brokers is 1,256 (1,119 + 137 = 
1,256). FMCSA's model summarizing the information collection required 
by the HHG broker at various contractual stages is based on regulatory 
requirements and fully represents the required interaction between an 
HHG broker and consumer as outlined in 49 CFR part 371.
    FMCSA agrees that further research into the practices and 
activities of registered HHG brokers and non-registered entities that 
conduct HHG brokerage activities could provide FMCSA with a more in-
depth understanding of how both entities engage with consumers.
    FMCSA looks forward to continuing to work with stakeholders on 
issues related to the practices of HHG brokers.
    Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of 
this information collection, including: (1) whether the proposed 
collection is necessary for the performance of FMCSA's functions; (2) 
the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways for FMCSA to enhance the 
quality, usefulness, and clarity of the collected information; and (4) 
ways that the burden could be minimized without reducing the quality of 
the collected information.

    Issued under the authority of 49 CFR 1.87.
Thomas P. Keane,
Associate Administrator, Office of Research and Registration.
[FR Doc. 2024-11316 Filed 5-22-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P