Uber Freight expands in efforts to grow Market Share

Uber Freight, one of Uber’s newest additions to its transportation platform, will be expanding into 6 new states in the coming weeks.

Uber Freight is an app-based system that allows logistical freedom when selecting delivery routes. The efforts to move westward are in an attempt to snatch market share, but the initial reasoning lies behind the demand from various truckers to have more options in the Midwest.

This expansion comes at a good time for Uber, and will most likely become a trend for Uber Freight in the coming months. Because Uber has quite a comfortable amount of internal backing behind the project, they don’t have to worry about seeking as much outside-funding, in the same way other startups do, in the on-demand freight marketplace.

Convoy is an emerging front-runner in the pack of on-demand freight startups. They’ve accomplished to rake in $62 million in the month of July alone. VC’s are jumping on the bandwagon, as it seems as if a new application pops up everyday to take a bite of the expanding market. To Uber, these smaller competitors don’t come as much of a concern.

Josh Larkin, Transportation and Logistics Analyst with Stifel Equity Research stated, that Uber’s deep pockets make turning a profit on Uber Freight a secondary concern. In this regard, Uber can focus more efforts on product and platform development, and expansion of their range for users (Supply Chain Dive 2017).

The field, as a whole, has a far lower resistance to logistical risks, as seen in many other shared economy business models, so finding a nearly perfect product-market fit (as quickly as possible) is crucial to the success of Uber Freight and others in the field.

On-Demand Freight is an interesting market, though not brand new. There has been competitors in the marketplace for years. However, with the emergence of new tech startups, vying for their piece of the pie, it adds another dimension to the market. It will be exciting to watch on-demand freight’s growth and utilization in the coming years. 

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