Uber Freight introduces new Shipper Platform for Canadian shippers

Earlier this week, San Francisco-based Uber Freight a subsidiary of the ubiquitous, ride-sharing service Uber, whose proprietary app matches trucking companies with loads to haul, announced it has rolled out a new self-service Shipper Platform north of the border in Canada.

The company said that Canada is one of the United States most trusted trade partners, with more than $700 billion in goods and services was traded between them in 2019 (when Uber Freight launched in Canada), with Canada’s local trucking market coming in at $10.44 billion in 2020. What’s more, it also observed that, like its U.S. counterparts, the Canadian trucking market is dealing with a driver shortage and is estimated to be in need of 25,000 drivers as soon as 2023, which Trucking HR Canada reported is a 25% increase compared to unfilled vacancies in 2019.

This is where the launch of the company’s new self-service Shipper Platform, for Canada, comes into play.

Drew McLachlan, Uber Freight General Manager, told LM that, in addition to the driver shortage in Canada, there were other factors that led to this launch.

“Currently, in order to move their freight, Canadian shippers reach out to a select number of brokers and are at the mercy of their rates, relationships, and timelines,” he said. “They only have visibility into a fraction of available capacity with no way to objectively evaluate rates against the market, and tendering a single load can take hours of back and forth between brokers and shippers. Smaller shippers, who don’t have the resources or aren’t big enough to justify investing in any kind of management system, are particularly vulnerable to inflated quotes and are frequently out of the loop on their freight status. One mismanaged load can devastate their entire business.”

And with these challenges, McLachlan explained that more than 1,000 shippers have expressed interest in using a shipper-specific platform from Uber Freight to help them increase efficiency in the sector and also reduce empty miles across North America.

“When Uber Freight launched in Canada in 2019, the goal was to build a robust and reliable carrier network for shippers, before offering up that network to shippers directly,” he said. “For the past few months, Uber freight has been working with shippers to better understand their needs and where our platform can create value. This week, the platform is now available to shippers of all sizes that enables them to get quotes and track shipments in real time.”

In terms of the benefits of this new offering, McLachlan laid out its various capabilities, including:

• Tendering a load in seconds-Create and tender loads with just a few clicks and dramatically reduce the time and energy it takes to book a shipment;
• Seeing instant marketplace pricing-Get instant and transparent price quotes for shipments. Uber Freight’s rates are based on market conditions and other factors and generated in real-time;
• Accessing Uber Freight’s reliable network of carriers and drivers-Have peace of mind knowing all loads tendered through the shipper platform are backed by Uber Freight’s vast and reliable network of carriers;
• Tracking freight in real-time-Track shipments online at any time of day. Automatic notifications for major milestones mean no more searching through an overcrowded inbox for tracking information; and
• Streamlining document management-Upon delivery, necessary documents and paperwork are automatically organized and stored for instant and future access

As for the biggest competitive advantages of this new offering, from an Uber Freight perspective, McLachlan said that the Shipper Platform is backed by Uber’s deep technology expertise and powered by its rich history in logistics.

“Since launching in the US in 2017 and in Canada in 2019, Uber Freight has built a dense and reliable network of carriers, launched solutions for shippers of all sizes, and connected carriers and shippers across the marketplace to automate the highest-friction parts of the supply chain,” he said.

He also noted that the Shipper Platform is free for all Canadian shippers and that its localization will be key in unlocking volume in Canada, as the platform provides Uber Freight with important differentiation from competitors targeting SMB & mid-market customers. While this product just launched, McLachlan said that Uber Freight has seen dozens of shippers in its pilot phase, as well as interest from more than 1,000 Canadian shippers.