Amit Sekhri took up trucking in the thick of the Great Recession, drawn in part by the freedom of driving the open roads. He was prepared for long hours and weeks away from home. But two of his biggest—and least expected—gripes were the constant phone calls and late payments. Like many truckers, Sekhri booked his …
Some of the wealthiest tech pioneers are pouring money into trucking logistics, sold on the idea that the industry is ripe for a new manner of technological disruption. When Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and eBay founder Pierre Omidyar throw their support behind startups, the Silicon Valley and Wall Street hype machines go into overdrive. App-based …
After serving 14 years for the Royal Canadian Navy, Ira Lawrence was ready for a new adventure. He and his wife decided to start a trucking company in 2017, but several hurdles nearly caused them to quit before even getting started. But then Lawrence found Convoy, a Seattle startup that developed an app to match …
Established U.S. logistics firms say digital-friendly freight startups that are drawing growing interest in Silicon Valley still lack the scale and customer relationships to threaten their share of the market. Executives at C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc., CHRW 0.77% the biggest broker of freight services in the U.S., said their large-scale shipper customers are looking for …
Freight Operators Dismiss Threat of Digital Startups – WSJ – By Erica E. Phillips Read More »
Convoy, backed by billionaire tech pioneers Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, and Uber Freight, an offshoot of the globally disruptive ride-sharing giant, are trying to grab a slice of the fragmented US truck brokerage market, taking different routes to lure skeptical drivers and capacity-hungry shippers. The two technology startups are attempting to persuade US shippers …
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 …
