Spot-market freight received another boost from Uber:
- $600 million investment
- Hiring 2000 people
- New “Freight” HQ in Chicago (where it can find qualified people from Hub, Coyote, etc.)
At the same time, Uber is enhancing carrier efficiency:
- Providing trailers for drop and hook (they call this Powerloop and is limited to TX and OK)
- Allowing carriers to book the next load (backhaul?) at the same time as they accept the current shipment
- Paying in 7 days
Some numbers:
- Started 2017
- Did $359 million in 2018, which is less than 0.3% of the $87 Billion trans business (Source: Armstrong & Associates)
- Spend is ~50% of revenue (i.e. they are preparing for much bigger revenues)
My take: this is a Sea Change in the freight market!