Uber Keeps On Trucking: Self-Driving Hype vs. Load Matching Reality

When one of Uber's self-driving trucks drove 200 kilometers from Fort Collins to Colorado Springs to deliver a shipment of beer, it seemed Uber was primed to disrupt the estimated $800 billion trucking industry. Optimism was bolstered by Uber's acquisition of the self-driving trucking startup Otto.

After the acquisition and a successful test run, Lior Ron, Otto's co-founder, told Reuters he expected truckers would be using driverless technology to haul freight as part of a suite of trucking services offered under the Uber banner.

Despite those early efforts to pair automation with hauling services, Uber's trucking application, Uber Freight, focuses only on connecting truck drivers with cargo that needs to be hauled. Bill Driegert, Uber Freight's director of operations, reported that the company's self-driving truck initiative and its freight-hauling service are on "separate tracks."

A crowded matching market

Uber's concentration on matching shipments to carriers means entering a competitive environment. Uber Freight is similar to services like Convoy, Doft, and Trucker Path, which also connect drivers to shipments.

Convoy, perhaps Uber Freight's most serious competition, may hold an advantage because of its partnerships with existing trucking companies. Convoy CEO Dan Lewis believes this is what differentiates the two companies:

"Uber had to essentially go out there and build all their capacity. They had to go get people to drive cars. They had to set up this whole system that didn't really exist before," whereas Convoy leveraged existing trucking companies.

Amazon has also been reported to be working on a similar capability that would cut out third-party middlemen — who typically charge a 15% commission — by matching shippers to truck drivers, with "real-time pricing and driving directions" plus truck-stop recommendations and a suggested tour of loads to pick up and drop off.

Then there are traditional trucking companies. Many are family-owned businesses, like RoadStar Trucking in Hayward, CA, which has been in business for fifty years and relies on long-standing partnerships with the companies whose products it ships.

What sets a platform apart

With the industry already populated by both traditional and tech-integrated companies, will newcomers struggle to differentiate? Uber Freight product manager Eric Berdinis pointed to a commitment to drivers:

The service promises to pay truckers for their deliveries within seven days, with no fees, and to show them price quotes before they book.

The current industry practice, by contrast, often has drivers waiting 30 days or longer for a paycheck. For owner-operators, that gap — fast, fee-light pay and upfront rates — is exactly where digital freight matching delivers its biggest value, with or without driverless trucks around the corner.