On May 14, 2026, the US Supreme Court ruled 9–0 that freight brokers can be sued for the carriers they pick. No dissent. No wiggle room.
The case, Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, LLC, started with a truck driver named Shawn Montgomery, who lost his leg when a truck hauling plastic pots struck his parked tractor-trailer in Illinois. The shipment had been arranged by C.H. Robinson — one of the largest freight brokers in North America — using a carrier that held only a “conditional” federal safety rating. For years, brokers used a federal preemption shield to kill lawsuits like this early. The Supreme Court just removed that shield for every broker in America.
Why does this matter to you? Because the entire case turned on business category. Broker, not carrier. Arranger, not transporter. Company logistics business category classification is the line that decides who gets sued, whose insurance pays, and which laws apply to your business. And in 2026, that line just got redrawn.
The Problem: You Do a Bit of Everything, So You Tick Every Box
Here’s the trap most logistics founders fall into. You start with one truck, then a client asks you to arrange a load you can’t carry yourself, so you broker it out. Then someone needs storage for a month, so now you’re warehousing too.
Within two years you’re doing four different businesses under one company name — and your registration, your insurance policy, and your Google Business Profile all say something different.
That inconsistency feels harmless. It isn’t. Logistics is enormous — IMARC Group values the global logistics market at $5.88 trillion in 2025, with 3PL models alone commanding a 56.3% share. Industries that big get policed hard. Regulators, insurers and courts all read your classification before they read anything else.
The Insight: Classification Follows Money, Not Ambition
Here’s the one idea to take from this article. Your business category isn’t what you offer — it’s what you primarily earn from and how you legally operate.
A trucking company that occasionally brokers loads is a carrier. A brokerage that owns two trucks for overflow is still a broker. The moment you classify by ambition (“we’re a full-service logistics provider!”) instead of by your dominant, legally-defined activity, you create gaps that insurers, courts and regulators will exploit — never in your favour.
This is the logistics-specific version of a problem every company faces. If you want the broader picture of how businesses get sorted into industries and verticals, read our guide to business vertical classification categories — this article is what happens when that idea meets trucks, warehouses and bills of lading.
The 6 Categories Every Logistics Company Falls Into
Almost every logistics business on earth fits one of these six buckets. Find yours — honestly.
1. Freight Transportation (Asset-Based Carriers)
You own or lease the trucks, ships, planes or rail capacity, and you physically move cargo. Think J.B. Hunt in trucking or Maersk in ocean freight. You carry the heaviest licensing and insurance load — because when cargo is damaged, the law generally points at the carrier first.
2. Freight Forwarding and Brokerage (Non-Asset)
You don’t move freight — you arrange it. It’s a huge business: roughly 28,000 US brokers arrange about a third of all American freight, moved by more than 780,000 carriers. Legally, this is a different universe from carrying: brokers register separately with the FMCSA and must hold a surety bond of at least $75,000. And after the 2026 Montgomery ruling, brokers now carry real tort exposure for careless carrier selection. The broker/carrier line is the single most expensive classification boundary in logistics — know exactly which side you’re on.
3. Warehousing and Distribution
Your revenue comes from storing and handling goods: general warehousing, bonded facilities, cold storage, fulfillment centers. Different risk profile, different insurance, different code.
4. 3PL and 4PL (Integrated Logistics)
Third-party logistics providers bundle transport, warehousing and fulfillment under one contract. 4PLs manage the whole supply chain, including other 3PLs. Careful here: “3PL” is a business model, not an official category. Statistically and legally, you’ll still be classified by whichever underlying activity dominates.
5. Courier, Express and Last-Mile
Small parcels, time-definite, door-to-door. This is its own category in every major system — a courier startup and a flatbed trucking firm are as different, on paper, as a bakery and a steel mill.
6. Specialized Logistics
Cold chain pharma, hazardous goods, heavy haulage, reverse logistics. These niches stack extra permits and compliance rules on top of your base category. The upside: specialization is usually where the margin lives.
The Codes Behind the Categories
When you register a company, open a business bank account, or apply for insurance, someone will ask for an industry code. Here’s the map, in plain English:
- NAICS (US, Canada, Mexico): Logistics lives in sectors 48–49, “Transportation and Warehousing.” The ones that matter most: 484 (trucking), 488 (support activities — this is where forwarders and brokers sit), 492 (couriers), 493 (warehousing and storage).
- SIC (legacy US codes): Older system, still requested by some banks and insurers. 4213 covers long-distance trucking, 4731 covers freight arrangement, 4225 covers general warehousing.
- ISIC / NACE / ANZSIC (rest of the world): The UN’s ISIC Section H (“Transportation and Storage”) is the template most countries copy — Europe’s NACE and the Australia/New Zealand ANZSIC follow the same structure: land, water and air transport, then warehousing and support activities, then postal and courier.
- Platform categories: Google Business Profile, LinkedIn and trade directories use plain-language labels like “Trucking Company” or “Freight Forwarding Service.” These aren’t legal codes — but they decide who finds you.
The rule: one truth, many translations. Your NAICS code, your insurance application and your Google listing should all describe the same business — just in different languages.
How to Classify Your Logistics Company (5 Steps)
- Follow the revenue. Pull last year’s numbers and see which activity actually earns the most. That’s your primary category — not the service you hope will take off next year.
- Draw the asset line. Do you move freight with your own equipment, or arrange for others to move it? Answer honestly. This single question separates carrier codes from broker codes, and after Montgomery, it also defines your lawsuit exposure.
- Pick your code per system. Choose the matching NAICS/ISIC-style code for registration and tax, then choose the plain-language equivalent for every public platform. Write them down in one document.
- Check what your category triggers. Hazardous goods, bonded warehousing, customs brokerage and cross-border work each add their own permits — and if you broker, the 2026 ruling means documented carrier-vetting is now part of the job. Your classification is the doorway; make sure you can afford what’s behind it.
- Re-classify when the business changes. If brokered loads quietly became 60% of revenue, your paperwork is describing a company that no longer exists. Growth usually changes how work flows through the business too — our guide to the 7 types of organizational structure covers what typically needs restructuring alongside it.
The Mistakes That Cost Real Money
Acting like a carrier while insured as a broker (or the reverse). This one has courtroom receipts. In an earlier US federal case, a company that held both broker and carrier authority was listed as the carrier on a bill of lading — and its broker liability insurer denied all coverage after a highway accident. The court upheld the denial, even though the company said a third party filled in the document. One word, zero coverage.
Classifying by ambition. Registering as a broad “logistics services” business feels flexible. In practice it hides you from industry-specific tenders and directories, and it makes underwriters price you for risks you don’t have.
Being a different company on every platform. A trucking company on the register, a “supply chain solutions” firm on LinkedIn, and a courier on Google. Inconsistent identity quietly corrodes trust and data quality alike — the same disease we covered in brand name normalization, wearing a hi-vis vest.
Never updating. Companies evolve. Registrations don’t — unless you make them. An annual 30-minute review is the cheapest compliance insurance you’ll ever buy. The rules move too: the biggest broker liability shield in America stood for years, then vanished in one morning in May 2026.
Where This Advice Has Limits
Two honest caveats. First, classification rules and licensing thresholds vary by country — the six categories above hold globally, but the exact codes, permits and the Montgomery ruling’s reach don’t, so confirm specifics with your local registrar or a transport lawyer before you file anything. Second, this article covers company classification, not driver or worker classification — that’s a separate legal minefield with its own rules.
Classify Like It’s a Contract — Because It Is
C.H. Robinson is a giant with lawyers on retainer, and its classification as a broker is now the center of a Supreme Court-approved negligence suit. You probably don’t have those lawyers. What you do have is the ability to get the paperwork right before anyone tests it.
Here’s what to do today. Pull up three things side by side: your company registration, your insurance policy, and your public listings. If they don’t describe the same business in the same category — fix it this week, not after the claim.
Your classification is the story regulators, insurers and courts will believe about your business. Make sure it’s the true one.
