Uber Freight Is Stuck in a No-Win Situation

REBECCA TINUCCI has just been assigned one of the toughest jobs in transportation.

- Bloomberg

She was named chief executive officer of Uber Freight after its founder, Lior Ron, jumped ship to become the chief operating officer of Waabi, a driverless large-truck startup. Tinucci, a Tesla Inc. veteran, was hired by Uber Technologies Inc. to help develop infrastructure for Uber drivers who own electric vehicles. She's now in charge of solving Uber's freight problem. The ride-hailing company made a bet that using its technological prowess to digitize the trucking industry would reap big rewards. That bet hasn't paid off and it's unlikely it ever will.

Uber Freight has posted operating losses every year since it was founded in 2017 except for 2022, when it broke even. Trucking industry profits hit a high in 2022, riding the wave of the pandemic surge of both demand and cargo rates. Legacy freight brokers posted large profits, including C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc.'s $1.5 billion of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization that year. The trucking industry is now in its third year of a historically long downturn. With tariffs weighing on global trade and creating headwinds for manufacturers and retailers, there's no relief in sight for demand to rebound.