Uber Freight announced it is expanding into the less-than-truckload market, giving shippers a single freight-matching platform for both truckload and LTL needs.

In an announcement, Uber Freight said there is room for efficiency improvements in LTL. It’s especially difficult, the company said, for small and medium-size shippers, “that often have to navigate multiple logins and touchpoints on antiquated LTL websites in order to ship their freight.”

By opening up its shipper platform to support LTL, Uber said it has given shippers a direct connection to its growing marketplace of truckload carriers and a leading group of LTL carriers, offering real-time access to market prices and capacity.

Uber Freight is leveraging technology infrastructure and LTL expertise from major third-party logistics provider BlueGrace Logistics, which has “significant scale and experience in the space,” according to the announcement.

Shippers looking to book LTL freight will be able to:

• Rapidly compare quotes across truckload and LTL within a single platform

• Receive quotes based on item details, pickup and delivery locations, and dates 

• Select from a list of LTL carriers directly within the platform 

• Schedule pickups and deliveries

• Manage LTL billings 

• Track shipments end to end

LTL has been one of the most requested features since Uber Freight launched its shipper platform in 2018, according to the company.

Uber Freight first launched for owner-operators and small fleets in 2017 as an app to match trucking companies with loads to haul, looking to transform the world of freight transport much as it changed the world of taxis with its ride-sharing app. Since then, among other things, it has introduced one-touch booking at fixed rates, real-time pricing and capacity APIs.

“After a year of unprecedented volatility, choice and flexibility are more important than ever to shippers,” said Lior Ron, head of Uber Freight, in a release. “Just as we did with the full truckload market, we’re using all our marketplace technology and data science expertise to bring much-needed transformation and new opportunities to LTL. It’s a segment of the industry that is not only in high demand but also furthers our journey to support shippers across first-to-final-mile logistics.” 

H&M USA, an ingredients distributor based in New York, has been using the new LTL offering and is seeing promising results, according to Uber Freight.

“As an ingredients distributor to the nutritional, food, and pharmaceutical industries, there are many instances where our business doesn’t need to fill an entire trailer,” says David Qiu of H&M. “The ability to now book LTL directly within the Uber Freight shipper platform means that we can rely on one solution for all of our shipping needs. Be it FTL or LTL, Uber Freight removes anxiety from the tendering process. The experience is efficient, flexible, and transparent, and I always feel confident that our business’s goods will be shipped in a timely and cost-effective manner.”