Transport and logistics company XPO Logistics Inc. said yesterday that its "Drive XPO" mobile app for carriers was seeing rising adoption by U.S. truck drivers searching for loads on the company's digital freight marketplace.

Greenwich, Conn.-based XPO launched the app in 2018, inviting truckers to use it as a way to book loads through its "XPO Connect" marketplace, which currently covers the company's truck brokerage, managed transportation, and last mile logistics business units.

Since then, the Drive XPO app has registered 18,000 U.S. drivers by April and a total of 22,000 by May, XPO said.

XPO declined to provide more specific statistics, such as the number of loads moved through the app or the revenue it generates on those loads. However, in a statement, an XPO spokesman said that more than 50 percent of the company's loads are now offered to its carriers electronically, customized for their preferences. The company also said that the user retention rate on XPO Connect is about 80 percent, calling that a high rate for this type of digital product.

22,000 carriers have signed up with XPO's dedicated mobile #app, Drive XPO, since its launch last year, and adoption is accelerating: 4,000 new carriers came onboard between April and May. #trucking #brokerage #WeAreXPO | https://t.co/66Oq1IkqQt pic.twitter.com/XIGqDVa8lO

— XPO Logistics, Inc. (@XPOLogistics) June 12, 2019

Truck drivers have an increasing number of choices for loading freight-matching apps onto their smartphones, since investors have been pouring money into the digital freight brokerage sector. That backing has supported small startups such as Loadsmart and Shipwell, as well as larger firms such as Convoy, Transfix, and Cargomatic. Still more apps are available from self-funded companies such as Uber Freight and from traditional brokerages such as J.B. Hunt.

One of those startups declined to comment when asked how its own driver-download statistics compared to the new XPO figures.

According to XPO, drivers are attracted to downloading its app because of the quality of ongoing enhancements. "Our approach to the shipper-carrier relationship is a good example of our technology strategy at XPO," Mario Harik, chief information officer of XPO Logistics, said in a release. "We use pioneering architecture behind the scenes, with easy user interfaces that encourage adoption. This gives us wide-ranging opportunities to develop supply chain efficiencies and deploy them at scale."

Recent Drive XPO app enhancements include:

• Search-specific alerts that trigger when a driver searches a load board for more than 30 seconds, flagging future loads that match the same parameters;
• Push notifications that prompt a driver to confirm a pickup four hours in advance, initiating dispatch and tracking once confirmed;
• User preferences that can be set for ideal equipment and length of haul, automatically prioritizing those loads in search results;
• A mandatory load checklist that requires carriers to confirm equipment and pickup/delivery times prior to booking a load; and
• Global, including multicurrency capabilities, multi-language support including French, German, Spanish, and Polish, and EU-compliant privacy policies.