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About 80 % of Höegh Autoliners ’ transportation volumes for 2025 and 2026 had been fixed by the end of last year on long-term contracts , CEO Andreas Enger said during a financial results briefing on Feb . 14 . Enger the levels of forward contract cover and net freight rates were the highest ever for the company . Enger ’ s view echoed that of Lasse Kristoffersen , president and CEO of Wallenius Wilhelmsen . During a Feb . 12 briefing , Kristoffersen said Wallenius has a very strong book of business that will carry it over the next couple of years . That includes multi-year transportation contracts totaling $ 8.9 billion signed last year that are each worth more than $ 100 million . The issues of falling vessel charter rates and sluggish vehicle sales that Wallenius Wilhelmsen and Höegh Autoliners raised at the end of last year have also eased . Both executives agreed the impact from possible US tariffs on vehicle imports from Mexico and Canada would be minimal . Enger said there had also been limited impact on transport volumes from the imposition of tariffs by the European Union on electric vehicle imports from China because Chinese manufacturers quickly switched to shipping hybrid vehicles .

Broker transparency reopens for comments

US regulators are requesting additional comments on a proposed rule that would let trucking companies access and review rates shippers pay to brokers . On Feb . 18 , the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration ( FMCSA ) reopened its “ broker transparency ” rulemaking for additional comment through March 20 . The FMCSA has received more than 4,800 comments since publishing its proposal Nov . 20 . This reopening was due to a request from the Small Business in Transportation Coalition ( SBTC ), one of the groups that petitioned the FMCSA for a rulemaking on broker transparency in 2020 , during the first Trump administration . Comments on docket FMC- SA-2023-0257 may be filed online or by mail at addresses provided in the Feb . 18 Federal Register . The rulemaking is part of a long-running dispute between freight brokers and owner-operators and small carriers over access to transactional data that would reveal shipperpaid rates and broker margins . In its proposal , the FMCSA suggested requiring brokers to keep electronic records of their freight transactions and make those records available to carriers and shippers electronically within 48 hours of a request . The FMCSA is also proposing standards for those transactional records , requiring them to contain all charges and payments connected to the shipment , including a description , amount and date , as well as any claims filed by shippers for damages or delays . The FMCSA denied an SBTC request that the agency ban provisions included in broker contracts that would waive a carrier ’ s right to review transaction data . The FMCSA said it will accept any comments received between Jan . 21 , when the original comment period closed , and Feb . 18 , when the period reopened .

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