Good day,
Launched in early 2017, Uber Freight has emerged as a major player in the multi-billion dollar digital freight space. Last August, Freight reached a $500 million annual revenue run rate, according to a report from The Information, which led to the company doubling its investment in the business unit over the next year. Uber Freight continues adding new features to attract both truckers and shippers. Last quarter the feature, Lane Explorer was added to allow shippers to see price estimates up to two weeks in advance, according to Business Insider.
At the same time, adding to its diversification, Uber Eats has quickly propelled itself towards the top of the U.S. food delivery space. Currently, it is second only to GrubHub, according to Edison Trends. Eats is profitable in 40 U.S. cities. If Uber’s freight and food delivery arms can maintain their growth, it could help it offset any future declines in market share in Uber’s core business, which has seen significant market share losses to Lyft over the past several quarters.
Did you know?
In the last week 40-foot container prices from Europe to the U.S. have jumped 40%.
Quotable:
“We are empowering a freight community that’s struggling to deal with the risks and volatility of being exposed to the freight markets with data, insights and actionable tools.”
–George Abernathy, chief revenue officer, at the Atlanta Freight Futures Road Show on Monday
In other news:
U.S.-China trade hopes extend equity surge; central banks supportive
World stocks hit a four-month high on Wednesday on hopes of progress in trade talks between the United States and China, with a dovish backdrop at major central banks also helping push markets back into the black. (Reuters)
EU plans 30pc cut to CO2 emissions from trucks
The European Union has reached provisional agreement on a regulation designed to cut CO2 emissions from commercial vehicles by 30 per cent by 2030. (Logistics Manager)
JD.com cuts 10% of management to speed decision-making
Chinese e-commerce group’s layoffs follow similar moves at Didi and Meituan. (Nikkei Asian Review)
Volvo delivers first electric trucks to customers in Sweden
Volvo has delivered two FL Electric trucks to customers in Sweden, one spec’d for distribution and the other for refuse duty. (Heavy Duty Trucking)
Globalization of e-commerce volumes propel Atlas Air results
Atlas Air released solid fourth-quarter and annual results today, and showed the lessor continuing to profit from benign trends while investing in new growth initiatives. (The Loadstar)
Final thoughts:
Many economists are calling for a softer 2019, which some current macroeconomic data supports . If we learned anything from the past 18 months, it is that nothing is certain and all it takes is a delayed harvest, a couple of hurricanes, an economic boom, and an exacerbated driver shortage to create an environment for rates to increase 36% on a year-over-year basis.
Hammer down, everyone!