Uber Freight announced that its drop-and-hook system for carriers working through its digital brokerage, Powerloop, is now available nationally and with new capabilities.
Drop-hook services have become increasingly sought-after, meeting the needs of the broker's shippers while also offering partner carriers enhanced efficiency and earning potential, the company said. Powerloop has been utilized by more than 10,000 carriers servicing more than 220,000 loads to date. In 2023 alone, the program experienced a 43% increase in load volume.
“We've transformed Powerloop into the drop-and-hook solution that I envisioned during my time as a shipper," said Alyssa Correale, vice president of operations at Uber Freight. "The escalating demand for our program is a testament to its efficacy."
[Related: Telematics beyond ELD systems: Promise, redundancy, and real expense/uptime benefits]
Recent Powerloop enhancements
The enhancements include an expanded "dedicated fleet" offering, bundling capabilities to build carrier drop and hook tours and telematics-enhanced "smart" trailers.
- Protecting cargo with smart trailers: Powerloop trailers are now equipped with GPS, cargo sensors, door sensors and 24/7 monitoring cameras, providing visibility into trailer location and capacity and alerts against cargo theft. Data generated from smart trailers is integrated into Uber Freight's Transportation Management System (TMS) via API, enabling tracing and tracking, and proactive risk mitigation.
- Recurring revenue with dedicated fleets: The scale of Powerloop offers new opportunities for shippers to establish dedicated fleets with Uber Freight carriers committing full-time to serve a particular shipper under a long-term contract. Uber Freight now facilitates the creation of dedicated fleets of any size leveraging carriers across the U.S. Carriers can provide shippers with committed drop and live capacity on a weekly or ongoing basis, helping unlock more stable and sustainable revenue for their businesses.
- Reducing deadhead with bundles: Bundles were introduced in Uber Freight’s network in 2019, with an intent to help optimize carriers' routes to reduce empty miles, the company said. Powerloop bundles have further reduced empty miles by more than 29%. Additionally, providing carriers with access to hauling bundles of loads from multiple shippers, Uber Freight hopes to help increase carrier earnings while minimizing dwell time. This new way of bundling loads and building routes ensures efficient movement from point A to point B and back.
“We’re thrilled to be expanding our offerings -- without the need to expand our fleet -- with Uber Freight’s Powerloop program,” said Reginald Alexander, Operations Manager from Skyward Transportation. “As a carrier of Uber Freight committed capacity, our drivers are hauling loads on a consistent basis for household names.”
These enhancements are now available on the Uber Freight platform, enabling carriers and shippers to leverage the power of Powerloop with ease.
Hear owner-operator Debbie Desiderato's account of pulling the Uber Freight-sponsored Powerloop trailer on the "Sisters of the Road" book tour to the Mid-America Trucking Show below on Overdrive Radio.
