When Jared embarked on his trucking career over two decades ago, he never imagined he would be on tour with a country music star, transporting guitars, amplifiers, and other essential stage equipment.
“It just happened – right place, right time,” the Canadian driver, who prefers not to disclose his surname, explained from the cab of his towering vehicle.
“I’ve logged 5,000 miles in a month and a half, but there are more breaks this year.”
During downtime between driving to shows in New Jersey, New York, Toronto, and Nashville, Jared uses a laptop, tablet, and two smartphones to scan for additional work, a process enabled by new technology.
He notes the contrast to his earlier days transporting fruit and wine.
“Back then, you had to find a payphone while on the road and call contacts, and you relied on a pager.”
“Now, you simply turn on your devices and browse available jobs. It’s all digital, and you get paid instantly. It’s significantly better for business.”
This shift has been driven by “Uberized” platforms, which digitally connect truckers with companies needing freight moved, drawing parallels to the ride-hailing app.
While Jared acknowledges the increased convenience, he points out that it has led to wage compression.
“During Covid, the average was $3 (£2.24) per mile; today, some loads from Toronto to Los Angeles pay $1.10 per mile.”
He also cites the rising cost of fuel as a significant factor.
In Canada, eight major platforms, including Uber Freight, have emerged to digitize the freight market.
Similar to the taxi app model, they are capitalizing on a fragmented market dominated by smaller players. 2023 data indicates that over 80% of trucking and freight firms in Canada employ fewer than five people.
Christopher Monette of Teamsters Canada, the Canadian Trade Union representing over 130,000 members, including truckers, expressed “deep concerns around the efforts to ‘Uberize’ the trucking sector” to the BBC.
“Wages in Canada have largely stagnated for the past 25 years, and the rise of gig-style work threatens to worsen the situation,” he argued, adding that “larger, often unionized carriers that operate responsibly by investing in safety, training, and decent working conditions are most at risk.”
“Truckers don’t need another app. We need stronger protections and bigger paychecks.”
When contacted, Uber Freight did not directly address the issue of wages and prices.
Instead, a spokesperson stated, “Flexibility, transparency, and choice are built directly into our platform.”
“Carriers can search for loads based on their preferences, such as lane, equipment type, commodity, and schedule, and either book instantly at a listed price or submit a bid for a rate that better aligns with their needs.”
In the trucking industry, a lane refers to a regularly traveled route.
“Our platform also uses real-time market data and AI-powered recommendations to help carriers make the most of their time on the road,” the spokesperson added.
Vancouver-based Freightera is a leading digital trucking service provider in Canada.
Co-founder Eric Beckwitt met with me overlooking the city’s sprawling port, where towering orange cranes move brightly colored containers against a backdrop of snow-capped mountains.
When he launched the company in 2014, there were no trucking apps for Canadian companies.
The service he developed allows drivers and customers to search 20 billion regular routes for hauling freight, a process he says takes only “five or 10 seconds.”
He emphasizes that, unlike other platforms, Freightera does not set prices.
“At Freightera, carriers set their own price. We ask them what they need to be healthy and profitable on each lane, and they set the price.”
Mr. Beckwitt believes the service has benefited the trucking industry. Before services like his, finding work or even the best route was like “finding a needle in a haystack,” the Freightera boss explained.
“Carriers really appreciate Freightera’s reliable demand for service, which has grown every year consistently, right through Covid, the inflation afterwards, and the current freight recession, one of the largest running freight downturns,” he said.
The company is now developing AI to expedite complicated bookings: “Digging through the noisy, messy documents, fine print, and inconsistent rules – things like missing paperwork, unexpected charges, or a routing issue that could throw off delivery.”
Mr. Beckwitt also envisions a completely automated freight industry “40 years from now,” where AI would control global freight.
“Automatically assigning cargo to networks with the lowest capacity and allowing complete transparency, tracking, and even trading while they’re in travel.”
Digital trucking services are utilized worldwide.
Kenya relies heavily on road freight and has embraced the new technology.
“Over 75% of inland freight is moved by road, and in many cases, it’s the only mode of transportation available,” said Jean-Claude Homawoo, co-founder of Africa’s largest digitized freight platform, LORI.
Since its launch in 2016, LORI has grown its network to 20,000 trucks. It does not own any vehicles but manages them digitally, aiming to prevent trucks from sitting idle or returning home empty.
He notes that, “there are certain routes like Mombasa to Kampala in Uganda, where we have loaded so many trucks that the price of a full truckload has fallen.”
If truckers are finding work that requires less driving around without cargo, they should be using less fuel.
This could help reduce the industry’s contribution to carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
Trucking accounts for over half of CO2 emissions within trade-related transport, according to a 2022 McKinsey report.
Mr. Beckwitt is convinced that technology like his is the solution.
“It’s just so much more energy-efficient and cost-efficient,” he adds.
While one form of AI might be helping drivers find work, another could eventually displace them.
In April, a commercial driverless truck operated by US-based tech firm Aurora took to an American highway for the first time.
In China, fleets of driverless lorries are currently being tested on routes around the country.
“The technology is there,” explains Freightera’s Mr. Beckwitt. “It’s just a matter of whether we trust it to be let loose on the roads. And there are obviously bureaucratic hurdles and red tape in the way.”
For trucker Jared, however, self-driving freight remains a distant prospect.
“Transportation has been around for hundreds of years. It’s not going to end with people worrying about self-driving trucks; that’s not going to happen any time soon.”
The driverless electric shuttle bus will cover a one-mile route for commuters and tourists.
Campaigners have criticized the decision, which was made due to low passenger numbers.
An Elizabeth line train, a tram, and a taxi are among the services receiving a special design.
The ferry linking the Waterside and Southampton has been out of service for almost a year.
People traveling between Gloucester and Severn Tunnel Junction are advised to plan ahead.