How Uber Freight’s pricing works and what it means for carriers

Time is money in any business, but it’s especially true in trucking. If loads aren’t priced right, they aren’t moving. And if they aren’t moving, nobody wins.

Here at Uber Freight, we make sure that our carriers and their drivers know exactly how much a load costs upfront and are paid quickly so they can keep their business running. That said, many drivers in our community want to understand how our pricing model actually works and where our prices come from.

How does Uber Freight decide what to price a load?

We built an algorithm that creates prices for loads in real-time. Think of the algorithm as a recipe where each industry data point is an ingredient, and the load price is the final product. The ingredients include market conditions like the day of the week, time of day, weather, and seasonality. We also look at how quickly loads are booked over time and then compare that to normal booking rates. If more loads are booked than normal, prices may decrease. If fewer loads are being booked than normal, prices may increase. Our algorithm uses that information to adjust prices throughout the day, which is reflected directly in the app. Generally, prices are created automatically, without human touch, just like airfare prices.

Sometimes I see a load price change within a few hours. Why does this happen?

Prices change in real-time because market conditions change in real-time. But unlike a traditional load-booking process—where you can get a call that the price has changed, sometimes hours after you’ve scheduled a load—with Uber Freight, the price you book is the price you’re paid.

Why should I trust the price that you assign to a load?

Traditionally, rate negotiations are time-consuming, and prices often depend on things outside of your control or hinge on personal relationships. With Uber Freight, prices are calculated and displayed upfront, representing supply and demand and what’s necessary to move a load––even if it’s above market prices. At the end of the day, it’s our mission to ensure all loads get booked efficiently.  Learn more about freight trucking rates here.  

There are many ways this process helps a carrier’s business, but the two biggest advantages are speed and transparency.

Our process gives you a transparent rate without needing a person to manually confirm a price, and we also ensure that the load price you see in the app is the same for everyone. This means carriers and drivers know exactly how much they will earn before booking on the app.

What happens to my pay when I run into issues that are out of my control, like if I’m delayed dropping-off a load?

The road can be unpredictable, and when things don’t go as planned, we’re here to help. Whether it’s layover or detention time, or paying out for deadhead miles when a load is cancelled last minute, we strive to be upfront about what pay to expect and when. If your experience is unique and requires special attention, our team is always available to connect.

Questions or comments on how our pricing works? Or have ideas on how to improve it? Visit the Uber Freight website.