Catch up on stories from the past week (and beyond) at the Slashdot story archive

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×
Businesses Transportation

Amazon Is Secretly Building an 'Uber For Trucking' App, Setting Its Sights On a Massive $800 Billion Market (businessinsider.com) 97

Posted by msmash from the there's-an-Uber-for-that dept.
Amazon is building an app that matches truck drivers with shippers, a new service that would deepen its presence in the $800 billion trucking industry, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told Business Insider. From the report: The app, scheduled to launch next summer, is designed to make it easier for truck drivers to find shippers that need goods moved, much in the way Uber connects drivers with riders. It would also eliminate the need for a third-party broker, which typically charges a commission of about 15% for doing the middleman work. The app will offer real-time pricing and driving directions, as well as personalized features such as truck-stop recommendations and a suggested "tour" of loads to pick up and drop off. It could also have tracking and payment options to speed up the entire shipping process.
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

Amazon Is Secretly Building an 'Uber For Trucking' App, Setting Its Sights On a Massive $800 Billion Market More

Amazon Is Secretly Building an 'Uber For Trucking' App, Setting Its Sights On a Massive $800 Billion Market

Comments Filter:

  • Savings (Score:3)

    by colinrichardday ( 768814 ) <colin.day.6@hotmail.com> on Friday December 16, 2016 @12:03PM (#53497491)

    How much of the savings would be passed on to consumers?

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by mlts ( 1038732 )

      I wonder how much it will help owner/operators and the truck drivers. As it stands now, the truck driving industry is following textiles and meat packing into oblivion, where even a minimal living is tough to do.

      • Just wait till Amazon invents transporters. The transportation industry in it's entirety will be obliterated.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by dj245 ( 732906 )

        I wonder how much it will help owner/operators and the truck drivers. As it stands now, the truck driving industry is following textiles and meat packing into oblivion, where even a minimal living is tough to do.

        I wonder how this will affect immigration policies, both in the USA and elsewhere. My company ships heavy industrial equipment and parts regularly. It is quite rare to see a US-born driver for these loads (step deck or flatbed, other types of trucking may vary). The barrier to entry is low- low education or english ability is not a huge barrier, which makes these jobs viable for foreign immigrants. If the driver workforce starts shrinking, and this seems inevitable, foreign immigration of low-skill work

        • Re: (Score:3)

          by Higaran ( 835598 )
          What do you mean when the driver work force starts shrinking, it has been shrinking for at least 5 years now. It is one of the few industries where you'll get hired almost on the spot as long as you can pass a drug test. The problem, is that it is seen as a low class job, so few people go into it, even though it is better paying than alot of industries.

      • operators

        Why are you assuming they're going to roll this out to old fashioned trucks that need a driver?

    • "and the jobs lost?" - and the jobs created!?

  • Optimal Tours? (Score:5, Funny)

    by erikscott ( 1360245 ) on Friday December 16, 2016 @12:11PM (#53497541)

    It will be cool if they can produce (provably) optimal "tours" for arbitrarily complicated sets of stops. It will be even cooler if they can do it in polynomial time.

  • So...free or less than 15%? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by xxxJonBoyxxx ( 565205 ) on Friday December 16, 2016 @12:11PM (#53497543)
    >> It would also eliminate the need for a third-party broker, which typically charges a commission of about 15% for doing the middleman work

    So what's Amazon planning to charge to be the new third-party broker? Nothing? Less than 15% Or....

    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward

      More importantly, does Amazon know what brokers are expected to do for that 15%? You can try to "appify" everything but unlike a taxi, trucking actually has some significant legwork done by "dispatch/brokers". Do customers and drivers really want to directly communicate with each other about arrival times, dock bays, etc. and if they do, are customers going to ignore the cost of the extra staff they will have to hire to communicate with the drivers?

      Not to say there is not more streamlining to do in this s

      • Re:So...free or less than 15%? (Score:5, Insightful)

        by ranton ( 36917 ) on Friday December 16, 2016 @12:54PM (#53497839)

        More importantly, does Amazon know what brokers are expected to do for that 15%? You can try to "appify" everything but unlike a taxi, trucking actually has some significant legwork done by "dispatch/brokers". Do customers and drivers really want to directly communicate with each other about arrival times, dock bays, etc. and if they do, are customers going to ignore the cost of the extra staff they will have to hire to communicate with the drivers?

        I helped install and configure truck dispatching software in the late 90's / early 00's, and I am honestly surprised that profession still exists today. Lack of technology investment is the only answer I can come up with. There is nothing they did a decade ago that cannot be done by software.

        They recommend the best routes for the drivers -> A large truck optimized version of Google maps could do this much better than any human
        They keep track of fuel costs and other transportation costs to ensure each route is profitable -> Easily done by software
        They know their driver's habits -> So would tracking software which would be far more objective
        They look ahead for connecting loads -> Much better done by algorithms
        They basically work 60-80 hours a week -> Algorithms work 168 hours a week
        They negotiate load price -> As if Amazon couldn't do this in a more automated fashion. It's certainly in their core competency.

        They have a friendly relationship with their drivers -> The one thing software would have trouble with, but virtually all communication could easily be moved to call centers.

        • Re:So...free or less than 15%? (Score:5, Interesting)

          by acoustix ( 123925 ) on Friday December 16, 2016 @02:06PM (#53498439)

          I helped install and configure truck dispatching software in the late 90's / early 00's, and I am honestly surprised that profession still exists today. Lack of technology investment is the only answer I can come up with. There is nothing they did a decade ago that cannot be done by software.

          They recommend the best routes for the drivers -> A large truck optimized version of Google maps could do this much better than any human
          They keep track of fuel costs and other transportation costs to ensure each route is profitable -> Easily done by software
          They know their driver's habits -> So would tracking software which would be far more objective
          They look ahead for connecting loads -> Much better done by algorithms
          They basically work 60-80 hours a week -> Algorithms work 168 hours a week
          They negotiate load price -> As if Amazon couldn't do this in a more automated fashion. It's certainly in their core competency.

          They have a friendly relationship with their drivers -> The one thing software would have trouble with, but virtually all communication could easily be moved to call centers.

          I happen to be the IT Director for a transportation company. I can assure you that while they have lagged behind in the past, the industry is rapidly catching up.

          Dynamic automated routing has been part of my company since 2005. Routes are selected by fuel contract price, tolls, hours of service, altitude, etc.
          Fuel and fuel tax tracking has been automated for over a decade
          Driver habits > Still tends to be manual due to drivers' needs that are constantly changing. Family home time, emergencies, vacations, etc.
          load planning is pretty much fully optimized except for instances listed above.
          Some loads can be automatically accepted or denied via EDI, but it depends on capacity and shipper requirements.
          Our lane prices are set. We rarely negotiate on a load by load basis.

          Driver relationships are crucial to keeping good drivers happy. Sure, there are lots of drivers (even in a driver shortage), but there is always a severe lack of *good* drivers. It's the most challenging part of the industry next to regulations. Call centers tend to piss off drivers. Some want to talk to the same dispatchers every day. Some only want to communicate via their mobilecomm device or smartphone app.

          Modern transportation software like McLeod LoadMaster or TMW Suite is very advanced.

        • Most of your assertions are spot on. I do take a bit of exception with "They recommend the best routes for the drivers -> A large truck optimized version of Google maps could do this much better than any human" - especially for hazardous materials (like gas and oil). Not every truck can drive on every road and Google maps has no way to handle this (yet). That's why software like PC*MILER is quite popular. Trucking is one of the few industries where there is a good ol' boy network. "I like Joe, he's

      • Do customers and drivers really want to directly communicate with each other about arrival times, dock bays, etc.

        Absolutely! I would much rather send this information directly to the driver through an app, than give it over the phone to the dispatcher where it is screwed up 80% of the time. I would also love to be able to see reviews of the drivers, and see a GPS plot of the driver's location. Trucking is definitely an industry that needs to be Uberified. It would be an improvement in every way.

      • Does Amazon know? I feel like Amazon's appropriate entities know a thing or two about what goes into shipping at this point. I tend to trust that they've done the research and crunched the numbers and concluded with a sufficient level of confidence that they could become a competitor in the broker game in a manner that is lucrative for them. And who says anything about customers and drivers communicating with each other directly any more than they did in the past? Alexa will take care of all of that. Amazo
    • I was gonna ask the same question, followed by "Don't we already have this kind of infrastructure in-place with the LTL (Less Than Load) freight services?"

      • Re:So...free or less than 15%? (Score:4, Insightful)

        by Higaran ( 835598 ) on Friday December 16, 2016 @12:43PM (#53497751)
        Basically Amazon is going to put up a load board, similar to truckstop.com or many other similar sites. Trucking is pretty much as streamlined as it's going to get, in reality they want to get people to move their freight as cheap as possible, and if they can get some kind of a commission on other freight by being the broker then it's a win for them. Right now Amazon is pretty much going to expand into everything possible because they need to keep expanding, so they will be experimenting with various industries, I wouldn't be surprised if they started selling their own branded TV's, laptops, refrigerators, washers, dryers, or pretty much anything you have in the house soon.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Nidi62 ( 1525137 )

          Right now Amazon is pretty much going to expand into everything possible because they need to keep expanding, so they will be experimenting with various industries, I wouldn't be surprised if they started selling their own branded TV's, laptops, refrigerators, washers, dryers, or pretty much anything you have in the house soon.

          Yep, just like Apple has done with the Apple TV and their famous iPhone branded stoves [blogcdn.com].

        • I will be concerned if Amazon Consumer Products' Security Concepts Division starts to deploy law-enforcement services.

        • Might as well keep using the "Amazon Basics" brand tied in with the "Amazon Now" functionality. With that in mind:

          Amazon Basics Prostitution: Clean, average-looking girls and boys for a minimum price.

          Amazon Basics Marijuana: Average, seedless marijuana with a predictable THC content

          Amazon Basics Firearms: Simple, high-capacity autoloading pistols and rifles

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by xlsior ( 524145 )
          Basically Amazon is going to put up a load board, similar to truckstop.com or many other similar sites. Trucking is pretty much as streamlined as it's going to get

          For now -- I'm sure that in another 10-15 years, the vast majority of long-haul trucking will be fully driverless, running 24/7.
    • The plan is to suck up all this data so that eventually their fleet of self-driving trucks can take over the profitable runs.
    • If they plan to be the Uber of trucking, they would start at something slightly less than 15% and then jack it up after they drive their competitors out of business and become the monopoly provider.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Jawnn ( 445279 )

        If they plan to be the Uber of trucking, they would start at something slightly less than 15% and then jack it up after they drive their competitors out of business and become the monopoly provider.

        Yes, that's very likely what they will do. That is the magic of the "free market". Eventually, a bigger, badder competitor, with deeper pockets, will beat you up and take away your lunch money. Only a stinking socialist would find fault with that, right?

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by slew ( 2918 )

          If they plan to be the Uber of trucking, they would start at something slightly less than 15% and then jack it up after they drive their competitors out of business and become the monopoly provider.

          Yes, that's very likely what they will do. That is the magic of the "free market". Eventually, a bigger, badder competitor, with deeper pockets, will beat you up and take away your lunch money. Only a stinking socialist would find fault with that, right?

          The biggest, baddest competitor is basically the government. They don't need to make a profit because they have the deepest pockets because they can tax you.. Socialist will find no fault with it, because their dad can beat up your "free market" dad.

  • Middle-man (Score:4, Funny)

    by AlienSexist ( 686923 ) on Friday December 16, 2016 @12:20PM (#53497607)
    "half the 'verse are middlemen and don't take kindly to being cut out" -- Capt. Malcolm Reynolds

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by vux984 ( 928602 )

      "It would also eliminate the need for a third-party broker, which typically charges a commission of about 15% for doing the middleman work."

      It's not eliminating anything. Amazon is simply entering the market as new competitor. They want to be that '3rd party broker'. And what commission do you think they'll take for doing the middleman work? Probably around 15%, maybe a bit less while they grab marketshare.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Desler ( 1608317 )

      This isn't cutting out the middleman. It's just replacing the current middleman with Amazon as the middleman.

      • Certainly. But the current middlemen don't see much difference between being eliminated and being replaced. It's still "being cut-out" for them.

  • liability, permits, hazmat, max hours on duty, etc are all issues.

    And if they pull an uber where the drivers don't have that much control things can get very bad and will Amazon be able to get off? Maybe from a law suit due to the EULA but what about DOT fines?

    • Re:liability, permits, hazmat, max hours on duty, (Score:4, Insightful)

      by caseih ( 160668 ) on Friday December 16, 2016 @12:42PM (#53497745)

      Those are things that are already regulated on a per-driver basis, irrespective of company they work for. None of that would change with Amazon helping drivers find loads. At any time a DOT agent can pull a truck over and inspect it, and examine the log book. This is something truck drivers already comply with. That won't change. I know lots of truck drivers who work for themselves. They already do these things. It's not at all like Uber's situation where private drivers who've never driven commercially are suddenly now driving taxis. Completely different scenario. Besides that, what Amazon might do is already being done by uShip.

  • This is a fantastic idea, and unlike the Uber thing, this doesn't involve running afoul of local regulations. In other words, professional truck drivers are, well, professional drivers who are already highly regulated and drive for a living anyway. Anyone can become a truck driver if they are willing to do what it takes to get their commercial license, and follow the existing regulations for drivers (log books, vehicle inspections every day, rest breaks, etc). It's not at all like Uber's attempt to be a t

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Higaran ( 835598 )
      There is a difference between owning a truck and trailer and running under someone else's authority, and running under your own. Getting a truck is easy, its all the licensing and other regulations that are too much, I own a small trucking firm with 25 trucks, there are 5 million things that I do that drivers and owner operators have no idea need to be done. Moving the freight is the easy part, it's making sure you are in line with all the regulations is the hard part.

    • This is a fantastic idea, and unlike the Uber thing, this doesn't involve running afoul of local regulations.

      And it's coming in just time to be squashed by fully automated trucking.

      • This is a fantastic idea, and unlike the Uber thing, this doesn't involve running afoul of local regulations.

        And it's coming in just time to be squashed by fully automated trucking.

        What? How do you figure?

        I have 0 interest in being a truck driver. But if I could own a truck and make money as it drove itself all around? I might very much be interested in that.

        And there's no reason I couldn't own a fleet of automated trucks and use this software as well. The truck owner is still making the money. The only difference is that the owner used to be the driver, and now they're not.

        • And there's no reason I couldn't own a fleet of automated trucks and use this software as well. The truck owner is still making the money. The only difference is that the owner used to be the driver, and now they're not.

          Independent owners? I believe you're very much mistaken. I believe that the manufacturers themselves will probably own the fleet and lease it out to shipping companies.

          Prior to automated shipping, it's too much hassle to deal with humans. Paychecks, HR, unions, etc., it's all very messy and time-consuming. No manufacturer in the world wants to deal with that any more than they need to, not when you can sell a product and offload that hassle. (and don't forget maintenance contracts and spare parts!) A

    • Anyone can become a truck driver if they are willing to do what it takes to get their commercial license

      No commercial license is needed if you drive a two-axle bobtail, and don't cross state lines. You can do a lot of around-town deliveries and short-hauls that big-rig drivers don't want to bother with.

      ... and follow the existing regulations for drivers (log books, vehicle inspections every day, rest breaks, etc).

      You don't have to do any of that either.

      • This is exactly what panther expedited specializes with (no I don't work for them). The specialize in short-haul expedited local deliveries.

  • Amazon parrots Russian trucking cooperatives?

  • Anyone who's stumbled across the TV show Shipping Wars [wikipedia.org] knows this already exists. It's called uShip. [wikipedia.org]
  • Perhaps the headline should be tweaked... 'Amazon Is No-So-Secretly Building an 'Uber For Trucking" App...'

  • What is Uber for regular Uber doing right now? That's right, self-driving cars.

    This "Uber for Trucks" is just Amazon getting all the shippers into their system so they'll be in the database with contracts already signed as soon as the self-driving trucks are ready.

    • I guess it depends on how far they're extending the metaphor, and I'm too lazy to read TFA, but to me, Uber for trucking sounds more like "Let's hire freelance non-union truckers and refuse to call them employees so that until the whole autonomous thing is hashed out we can undercut the crap out of UPS and FedEx."

  • It would also eliminate the need for a third-party broker, which typically charges a commission of about 15% for doing the middleman work.

    So Amazon is doing all of this for free? If not, how are they not also just another third-party broker that charges a commission?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Qzukk ( 229616 )

      all of this for free

      Of course! That is, assuming you're shipping to or from an Amazon warehouse. If you're shipping to or from WalMart you can use the app for 15% though I'm sure they've already developed their own logistics system to stock their warehouses.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Jeremi ( 14640 )

      So Amazon is doing all of this for free? If not, how are they not also just another third-party broker that charges a commission?

      I think the difference would be that Amazon could leverage their existing software and hardware assets to provide this service at an extremely low cost relative to the costs incurred by the existing (and presumably less efficient) brokers.

      It might be so low-cost to Amazon that they actually could afford to offer the service without charging any commission (and perhaps justify it by the fact that it decreases the costs of the materials they ship as part of their main business). At the very least it would al

  • I don't think so...

  • AdBlock (Score:3)

    by hduff ( 570443 ) <hoytduff @ g m a i l .com> on Saturday December 17, 2016 @10:02AM (#53502595) Homepage Journal

    The linked site won't display when you run AdBlock.

    Here's a free link: http://www.inc.com/business-in... [inc.com]

Slashdot Top Deals

He has not acquired a fortune; the fortune has acquired him. -- Bion

Close