Over the past year, we’ve all gotten a lot more ‘things’ delivered. While you may be more familiar with Amazon’s sprinter vans, it’s actually trucks and trucking that gets your items from ‘there’ to your house. You may not have given trucking much thought, but truck drivers actually have many similar pain points that rideshare and delivery drivers do. In this episode, I’ll talk to an innovator in this industry all about trucking, including the future of trucking and more.
Also, take a look at the Shift podcast! Shift is the mobility-focused podcast from Automotive News, which has been around since 1925! The podcast, Shift, is one of my favorites and I highly recommend you check it out.
Listen to this episode on your phone here.
Intro to Tobenna Arodiogbu
- CEO of CloudTrucks
- Previously founder of Scotty Labs (acquired by DoorDash)
- Doesn’t believe autonomy will replace drivers
- Truck drivers wanted more control over their schedules – but complex to be an IC as a truck driver
Trucking Industry
- Roughly 10% of truck drivers are owner-operators, but that may be a low percent
- CloudTrucks gives drivers one app that provides back office staff so drivers can focus on driving
- Makes everything more simple for drivers
- Without CloudTrucks, drivers are managing multiple apps, phone calls, etc. to get jobs
What is CloudTrucks?
- Helps make trucking management simpler for drivers
- Can help them with logistics – do they want to go from A to B? CloudTrucks can help
- Maintains the back end, getting paid (and on time), etc.
- Also helps drivers negotiate pay
Trends in the Trucking Industry
- Shipper –> broker –> carrier
- CloudTrucks is a carrier, Uber Freight is a broker
- CloudTrucks customer is the driver
- Biggest opportunity is helping the drivers
- More transparency
Future of the Industry
- The larger and faster the vehicle, the harder to make autonomous
- Autonomy in trucking can be a good thing (fewer accidents) – it will play a role, but will not replace
- Trend will be truckers deciding how to use their time
- Growth in the industry is coming – most truckers are older and phasing out in this line of work
Outro
- Thanks to Tobenna for coming on the podcast and the fascinating discussion
- I’m interested in this next level of marketplace businesses
- CloudTrucks is helping drivers build a real business
