San Francisco-based Uber Freight provided multiple updates on various technology-focused services and initiatives at Deliver, its annual customer conference, in San Diego last week.
These updates come roughly two years after Uber Freight acquired Transplace, a period in which the company has invested $120 million on new and enhanced products and logistics services, it said. And with $18 billion worth of freight under management, Uber said that its new products and offerings are helping to steer the company’s efforts to be “a new kind of logistics company,” focused on offering end-to-end enterprise applications and services amid what it called a “complex logistics landscape.”
Uber Freight CEO Lior Ron said on a media conference call that the new offerings introduced represent the most comprehensive transformation and update in its history, for products and services.
“It is a doubling down on our technology, our services, and overall sort of logistics investment in a time where other companies might struggle with the changing conditions in logistics and the freight market,” he said. “From the acquisition of Transplace two years ago, for the continued Uber Freight investment and commitment, Uber Freight has tons of momentum in the market from a financial perspective.”
He added that the company has focused and invested a lot to come up with innovative products that can help affect outcomes for its shipper customer base, with the company transitioning from its marketplace, or brokerage roots, to an enterprise suite of software and services for large shippers and help them manage their entire business with systems and software while providing more than capacity.
Uber Freight’s new offerings and updates include:
Uber Freight continues to gain ground as the most extensive autonomous freight network in North America with active partnerships with the leading developers and dozens of shippers moving autonomous loads on the network daily. In September, the company achieved a milestone of 100k autonomous miles driven with AV carriers on the network; and
Uber Freight has expanded support across the North American cross-border supply chain. To meet a 20% increase in production from across the customer base, the company now has six cross-border locations between U.S. and Mexico and over 1,000 team members throughout the region to support this tailwind
Uber Freight’s Ron said on the call that current logistics and freight market conditions represent both a moment of challenge and a moment of adversity.
“It's a moment where we're living in one of the largest freight recessions, if I may say in the history that we remember,” he said. “And I think that this is the time where we can show what makes us unique and sort of what are we made of in a time of challenge for the industry, and we can actually double down on investment, scale, and commitment while forging new ground.”