UBER TO MOVE FREIGHT, TARGET TRUCKING FOR THE LONG HAUL

With its recent acquisition of self-driving truck startup Otto, Uber Technologies Inc.[UBER.UL]is plotting its entry into the long-haul trucking business, aiming to establish itself as a freight hauler and a technology partner for the industry.

Otto plans to expand its fleet of trucks from six to about 15 and is forging partnerships with independent truckers, Otto co-founder Lior Ron told in an interview. Starting next year, Otto-branded trucks and others equipped with Otto technology will begin hauling freight bound for warehouses and stores, he said.

Uber has already started pitching services to shippers, truck fleets and independent drivers, and the services go well beyond Otto's initially stated goal of outfitting trucks with self-driving technology. It also plans to compete with the brokers who connect truck fleets and shippers. Fully autonomous trucks remain years away - some trucking industry experts estimate two decades - and the Otto vehicles are currently manned by a driver and an engineer. But the Uber-Otto efforts include a host of other technologies involving navigation, mapping and tracking, which can be deployed even as work continues on self-driving systems.

An executive at one company told he had already been approached by Uber about hauling his goods, noting that Uber touted recent hires and advances in trucking technology. Uber aims to ultimately transform the competitive and fragmented $700 billion-a-year trucking industry, which is notorious for low margins. The company is challenging a host of established players, ranging from publicly traded companies, such as third-party logistics firms C.H. Robinson and XPO Logistics, to countless mom-and-pop trucking businesses. Otto has had motor carrier permits with the U.S. Department of Transportation and California Department of Motor Vehicles to move cargo since earlier this year. Eleven days after the close of the Uber acquisition last month, Otto filed for a new permit to haul freight, noting it would expand its fleet to 15 trucks.

Ron told that Otto also aims to partner with the industry, and that "thousands" of owner-operator truck drivers have reached out to the company.

"We are talking with everyone," he said. "We don't want to develop technology just for the sake of technology."

Uber - the dominant ride-hailing firm and the world's most valuable venture-backed startup, at $68 billion - last month bought Otto in a $680 million deal. Otto, with about 100 employees, had just launched in January. While Uber's brand and financial backing could supercharge Otto's prospects, industry experts remain skeptical that a Silicon Valley startup with little experience can shake up long-haul trucking. "The transportation industry is a relationship-backed business," said Kevin Abbott, a vice president at C.H. Robinson. "There's a lot more to it than just finding a piece of equipment." Abbott noted that Uber is just the latest in a long line of companies that have tried to take the place of brokers, who typically match loads with vehicles.

Uber and Otto also face competition from a growing crop of startups eyeing the industry. Companies such as Transfix, Convoy and Cargo Chief are aiming to unseat traditional brokers by matching shippers with carriers using complex algorithms, while Trucker Path has built a popular navigation app for truckers.