Ship

Uber invests big in "Freight" — the Uber for pallets of stuff in tractor-trailers

Tuesday, September 10, 2019 by Snacks
_"What do I have to do to get you in this Uber Freight?"_

"What do I have to do to get you in this Uber Freight?"

Freight just brought sexy back... Uber wants to make trucking its next profit puppy. Just like ride-hailing, Uber Freight connects drivers (of 18-wheelers) with riders (Budweiser's beer kegs or Land O'Lakes' stacks of butter). Uber just announced that Freight is its fastest-growing business line, so it's investing more in a big way:

  • Cash: Uber's Freight line will get a $200M investment each year.
  • Personnel: Uber's hiring 2K people at its future 2nd-biggest location (and the only other one besides SF that gets engineers) — Chicago = Freight HQ.
  • Perks: To sign up new truck drivers to the gig-for-cargo platform, it's offering discounts on gas, free tires (but seriously — tractor-trailers need 18 of 'em), and cash bonuses.

Uber's spending money to stop losing money... It lost a gargantuan $5B last quarter (the last 3 months), and loses $3.36 each time someone delivers an Uber Eats meal. It's funneling money away from marketing (it laid off 400 this summer in that dep't) and toward this growing bet.

THE TAKEAWAY

Freight has to be different than the rest of Uber... Uber's 3 non-Freight divisions — rides, bikes/scooters, and Eats — all face copycat competition. Without barriers to entry to creating an app platform, Lyft, DoorDash, and others keep prices low and competition fierce. Uber must find a way to prevent an Amazon Freight or Lyft Trailer from becoming a thing.

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