A year after Rebecca Tinucci took the helm of Uber Freight, her tenure is showing some signs of success, even as the division remains unprofitable.
Uber Technologies' logistics arm in August reported its second-straight quarter of annual revenue growth for the first time in three years. More volume moved through its network despite weak demand industrywide. And more customers are using the company's services for a greater share of their logistics needs, Tinucci tells the WSJ Logistics Report's Liz Young.
The company last month announced plans to expand its European business and open a new office in Krakow, Poland. It is using AI to help make its customers' supply chains more efficient and win more business.
But challenges remain. Uber Freight, whose customers range from Colgate-Palmolive and Target to chemical and automotive companies, lost $24 million in the quarter ended June 30, compared with a loss of $26 million a year earlier.
Tinucci says her priorities are growing overall revenue, investing in the business and proving that Uber Freight makes sense within Uber. Profitability is important, she says, but not to the detriment of top-line growth.
"Shippers are more open and interested in working with fewer providers to simplify their supply chains." Rebecca Tinucci, CEO of Uber Freight
Automation
The former Tesla and Apple executive who led Ford Motor's EV development until earlier this year was named president of Mind Robotics, the industrial robotics startup spun out of automaker Rivian.
Doug Field will oversee product, engineering, operations and more at the company that aims to put "human-like" machines in factories in the coming years, the Journal's Patrick George writes. The startup aims to deploy the robots first in Rivian factories.
Field led development of (Tesla's) Model 3 and then Apple's now-defunct car project before being lured to Ford in 2021 to oversee its EV and digital efforts. He left Ford in April for unspecified reasons.
Number of the Day
1.9%
Year-over-year increase in September of the shipments component of the Cass Freight Index, which measures U.S. shipping demand, the second-consecutive monthly gain after a 3.5-year downturn.
Energy
Diesel futures prices rose 4.5% on Tuesday, climbing to their highest in two weeks, and the national average retail price rose slightly to about $6.28 a gallon, according to Dow Jones Energy, despite President Trump's latest move to lower fuel prices.
On Friday, Trump announced a deal to suspend sanctions on Russian diesel exports in exchange for the country lifting the export-ban it put in place this summer. Lawmakers from both parties questioned the deal's legality, while analysts said the volume of fuel outlined in the deal wasn't enough to meaningfully reduce prices.
-- The IEA expects global diesel supplies to remain tight well into next year as Middle East fuel exports struggle to recover. (WSJ)
-- OPEC cut its forecast for global oil-demand growth this year to 180,000 barrels a day, down from its previous estimate of 380,000 barrels a day. (WSJ)
-- European natural-gas prices rose to their highest level since December 2022 as Middle East attacks threaten supplies and storage levels remain low. (WSJ)
In Other News
-- U.S. existing-home sales in September were up for the first time since May, rising 1.5% from August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.99 million, according to the National Association of Realtors. (WSJ)
-- Drones struck two commercial ships outside Bulgaria's territorial waters on Tuesday, sinking one vessel and leaving 11 people missing. (WSJ)
-- Jeep maker Stellantis reported an estimated 1% decrease in global vehicle shipments in the third quarter to about 1.29 million. (WSJ)
-- U.S. drone-tech startups are joining with Taiwanese firms to build a secure supply chain that avoids China and serves both militaries. (WSJ)
-- Albertsons pulled its full-year outlook and plans a business review to establish a turnaround plan following sluggish results. (WSJ)
-- Maritime nuclear-energy startup Bluecore Energy obtained low-enriched uranium for its first floating power system. (Splash247)
-- More than 50 eastbound shipments of LNG have transited the Arctic so far this year-beating 2025's full-year record-with just under half of the trips made by ships under sanctions. (Lloyd's List)
-- Traton Group said sales of trucks and buses at its International Motors brand rose 48% from a year earlier in the third quarter. (Transport Topics)
About Us
Mark R. Long is editor of WSJ Logistics Report. Reach him at mark.long@wsj.com. Follow the WSJ Logistics Report team on LinkedIn: Mark R. Long, Liz Young and Paul Berger.
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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.
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