"Uber for drayage" startup lands $3.5 million funding

Container transportation platform startup Dray Alliance said today it has landed $3.5 million in funding to extend its vision of building an "Uber for drayage" product for the last-mile container delivery process.

The Lakewood, Calif.-based firm says its mobile technology generates savings for shippers, ocean carriers and freight forwarders by connecting them with drayage truckers who deliver containers to destination warehouses.

The funding came as first-round "seed financing" led by David Sacks' Craft Ventures. "Drayage is currently the most neglected area of the transit supply chain," Jeff Fluhr, general partner at Craft Ventures, said in a release. "The nuances of drayage create distinct challenges and opportunities that are quite different from other trucking segments such as [full truckload] and [less-than-truckload]."

Dray Alliance says it will bring Uber-like, airport pick-up efficiency to the drayage industry by replacing the current system of emails and spreadsheets with a mobile platform that provides more predictable delivery times and better economics for shippers, carriers, and truckers, according to company CEO Steve Wen.

The news comes just four months after startup DrayNow Inc. raised $5 million for a platform that provides real-time freight booking and tracking for the domestic, rail-based intermodal trucking industry.

Thank you @crafTÜVentures for your support as we bring transparency and efficiency to the #drayage industry.https://t.co/2niei3Ab08

— Dray Alliance (@Dray_Alliance) February 26, 2019