In the most recent episode of the Freightvine podcast, Chris Caplice sat down with Bill Driegert of Uber Freight.
One of the themes within the discussion was the “uberization” of freight and the focus on digital freight matching. There have been very few investments historically that have changed the way the transportation industry operates, but the emergence of Uber Freight and similar organizations has started to change the dynamics and increase the focus on technological solutions.
While Uber Freight is not the only company providing similar services, Bill’s viewpoint was that the largest hurdle is getting to scale and getting there quickly. Leveraging the base of Uber and the associated name recognition allowed them to grow faster than some of the newer companies out there; however, it’s only a matter of time before the more established traditional brokers adapt and leverage the scale of their own networks.
Owner-operators and small carriers are a key piece to the industry and those companies that are trying to crack the code of making them more efficient and more profitable could have a lasting impact on the industry, while benefiting the shipper community as well as the carriers themselves. While many of the ideas on how to do this are not new, technology is going to be the answer. The same operational challenges that have kept some solutions from working will be there, but creativity and technology will help remove some of those barriers. Bill mentioned a couple of programs Uber recently launched this year – Facility Insights and Power Loop. Both of these tools are designed to increase connectivity between shippers and carriers. Chris referenced that Facility Insights is the Yelp of shippers and receivers, whereas Power Loop is a shared trailer pool among owner-operators and small carriers. Time will tell if they move the needle in how shippers and carriers work together.
This episode recap was written by Cindy Bosecker, Director of FMIC Product Development.
Market Update & Forecast: 10 October 2019
Dry Van
Active rates dropped 1% and spot rates have risen about 2%.
Temp-Control
Active rates are down 1%, whereas spot is up 0.5%.
Intermodal
Active contracts dropped 1% with spot dropping 1.5%.
The emergence of new contracts across all modes has continued to show a downward trend and coming in lower than current active rates. Overall the market is showing more capacity than demand. Shippers that took rate increases at the end of 2017 or the beginning of 2018 may consider bidding or negotiating new contracts before the market starts to shift. Although spot has gone up slightly, it’s believed to be more a result of seasonal trends and fuel changes rather than a true upward trend in the market.
