Uber brings freight business to Canadian market

Uber Freight has announced its expansion to Canada with plans to facilitate seamless domestic and cross-border loads. This is the company's first North American expansion and comes on the heels of Uber Freight's recent European expansion to Germany, the Netherlands and Poland, as the company continues to scale its global operations.

Canada's trucking industry is a $68 billion (USD) market and the second-largest goods trading partner in the United States with $617.2 billion (USD) in total goods trade during 2018. Canada faces a severe and growing driver shortage, resulting in constrained freight capacity. These tight market conditions present uniquely complex supply chain challenges ripe for technology solutions. The Uber Freight platform can help increase efficiency in the sector and reduce trucks running empty miles across North America.

"Uber is a global company with a global mindset, and the Freight business is no exception. Since the beginning, we have been dedicated to scaling our operations to enable opportunity for both Uber Freight and the shippers and carriers that keep our world moving," said Lior Ron, Head of Uber Freight. "We are thrilled to expand to Canada, our neighbor and critical trade partner, to together unlock the massive opportunity the North American trucking market represents. With our sophisticated marketplace technology and reliable carrier base, Uber Freight is uniquely positioned to solve industry challenges, such as tight capacity, both in Canada and elsewhere at scale."

Martin Brower, the largest supply chain partner to multi-unit restaurants, is among Uber Freight's first shipper partners in the Canadian market. "As a company with innovation at its core, Martin Brower is always looking for new technologies that help us raise the bar of service for our restaurant partners," said Kristofer Lorelli, Director of Freight at Martin Brower. We're excited to work with Uber Freight to tap reliable capacity and ensure seamless, fast service across North America."

Today, the company is facilitating freight in Ontario and Quebec domestically and across the border to Midwestern and Northeastern United States, with plans to expand to the rest of Canada. Local carriers and their drivers based in the U.S. and Canada are able to book and move domestic and cross border loads with the Uber Freight app, now available in both English and French.

This expansion follows partnerships with global cloud service providers, SAP and MercuryGate, announced earlier this year. In 2019, Uber Freight expanded to serve over 1,000 shippers including AB Inbev, Niagara Bottling, Land O'Lakes and many more Fortune 500 companies, with offices in San Francisco, Chicago, and Amsterdam.