The push to automate freight brokering is gaining momentum with technology startup Convoy raising $62 million to accelerate its growth plans and Uber Freight adding features and expanding into new markets since its May launch. These digital freight brokers offer mobile applications that match carriers with loads, automate manual processes and provide upfront pricing and […]
Some of the biggest names in technology, including Jeff Bezos, Marc Benioff and Bill Gates, were involved in the latest funding round for Seattle-based freight matching marketplace Convoy. Even in an era of almost unprecedented interest and venture capital investment in transportation and logistics technology, the list of investors in Seattle-based freight matching technology
It’s a warm summer afternoon at the TA Seattle East truck stop in North Bend, Wash., and Jerry Brooks is waiting for business. The 60-year-old driver from South Carolina wants to head back east, but the offers he’s received so far don’t meet his standards for distance and pay. “Everybody you see here is looking
Even though the U.S. GDP remains stagnant and retail sales continue to plod along, it hasn’t had much of an effect on the ever-expanding truckload brokerage market. At a time when capacity remains readily available and shippers aren’t scrambling for loads, the market is brimming with new entrants vying to make a name for themselves.
Transportation as a Service is just one way the industry will change in the years ahead TaaS. It seems like another in a long line of acronyms that have infiltrated the transportation industry with technologies promising to disrupt the world as we know it. But what is TaaS, and why will this be an acronym
The “sharing economy,” loosely defined as peer-to-peer transactional systems for goods and services, has upended traditional industries across the globe. Last month, rideshare industry giant Uber launched its long-awaited Uber Freight, bringing with it the potential for disruption in the way carriers and owner-operators bid on and move freight in the future. Before you turn
The trucking and logistics industry has been inundated by well-funded startup brokerage firms. Many have developed software that makes freight and capacity available to carriers and shippers on-demand. On-demand freight models seek to remove the role of an intermediary in freight transactions. Some refer to this “de-intermediation” movement as the “Uberization of trucking.” In theory, technology should make it as easy
McKinsey identifies areas of concern for trucking and rail professionals Just when everyone thought the industry was done with talk of revamping the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), President Donald Trump sent official notice to Congress of his intent to renegotiate key parts of the trade deal. A surprise? Not really, since that was
If it seems that freight brokerage – both digital and traditional services – are popping up on a daily basis, it could be because they are, or it at least it seems that way. Digital freight matchers (DFMs) include familiar names such as J.B. Hunt 360, Convoy, CargoMatic, Haulfox, Transfix, HaulHound and Freight Rover. Most
It basically goes without saying that changes are coming in regards to the frenetic pace of technological innovation in the world of truckload brokerage. Last week’s news that Uber has officially become a player in the space, with the introduction of its Uber Freight app, created a ripple effect of sorts. Where was this ripple