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This story appears in the Dec. 6 print edition of Transport Topics.

Three freight trade groups asked a federal appeals court to halt the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s planned Dec. 12 public release of fleet safety information, claiming the move would violate federal law.

The action was filed by the National Association of Small Trucking Companies, the Expedite Alliance of North America and the Air & Expedited Motor Carriers Association on Nov. 29 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The three groups said they represent a total of 2,750 carriers.

The groups want to block the issuance to the public of scores compiled under the CSA program, arguing that the agency failed to follow the Administrative Procedure Act. That law requires a formal public comment period and issuance of a final rule before an agency issues a regulation.

The groups’ filing cited four deficiencies in the Behavior Analysis Safety Improvement Categories, or BASICs system: difficulty in challenging scores, a bias against small carriers, inconsistent data collection methods and an unfair method of calculating the scores.

“The publication of the BASIC ratings will result in irreparable competitive and economic harm to motor carriers and freight brokers,” the groups said.

“Implementation of CSA 2010 in its current form threatens the survival of thousands of carriers, many of which are small companies,” the groups said. “A program that decreases competition, reduces jobs, and increases transportation costs is not in the public interest.”

“We feel very strongly about this program and we’ll stand firm,” FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro said about the suit at a Dec. 1 industry conference.

The federal safety agency’s CSA, or Compliance, Safety and Accountability program, uses seven BASICs, or Behavior Analysis Safety Improvement Categories, to evaluate carrier safety. Fleets have been able to see their own BASICs scores since August, but no one else outside the agency will have access to the scores until they are made public.

The groups said the CSA program could lead to consequences such as bankruptcies, job losses and reduced access to capital, which they said would hurt the public because it would result in less available freight capacity.

NASTC, of Gallatin, Tenn., TEANA, based in Philadelphia, and AEMCA, of Manassas, Va., voiced another concern: legal action.

“Shippers or transportation brokers who are customers of FMCSA regulated motor carriers will be exposed to the threat of vicarious liability for alleged ‘negligent selection’ of a motor carrier,” the filing said. “This threat will become immediate whenever a carrier used by such customers has an accident while handling their freight and then turns out to have less than perfect BASIC scores.”

Other freight groups asked for some last-minute changes before the scores were released.

American Trucking Associations said it wouldn’t join the lawsuit, but did ask the agency to make changes beyond steps taken last month to exclude public release of BASICs that measure crash likelihood and load securement.

ATA said some severity rankings used to calculate BASICs such as cargo securement rules should be changed because they don’t reflect real-world conditions.

Also, ATA said the way fleets are grouped for comparison with their peers should be reviewed and asked FMCSA to test the scoring system “to ensure that it accurately identifies carriers that are unsafe.”

ATA in a message to members said it didn’t join the court case because “FMCSA has demonstrated a willingness to respond to ATA’s concerns with CSA 2010.”

In separate moves, the Transportation Intermediaries Association and the National Industrial Transportation League told the agency in letters that the prior method of carrier safety evaluation, known as SafeStat, should remain available to the public for 90 days to allow time for their members to make a transition to the new ratings.

“The agency has shown its willingness to work with the industry to modify CSA to address concerns while not diluting the safety improvement objectives,” said TIA President Robert Voltmann.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association won’t join the suit, spokeswoman Norita Taylor said.

“At this point, we don’t have any reason to believe [FMCSA] won’t continue to listen, so we haven’t really reached a point where we think a lawsuit is the answer.”

Senior Reporter Sean McNally contributed to this report.