The trucking industry is worth hundreds of billions of dollars per year. Uber is going after this market with Uber Freight, an online platform that matches truckers with shippers looking to move cargo from one place to another.
In 2018, about 3.5 million people in the United States were employed as truck drivers. With the explosion of Amazon and other e-commerce companies, the demand for truck drivers has been outpacing supply. In 2018, the United States trucking industry was short over 60,000 drivers. If the trend holds, experts predict there could be a 160,000 driver shortage by 2028.