Freightos®, the logistics technology company bringing freight online, today announced the expansion of the world’s first online freight marketplace to the United Kingdom. Since its US launch in 2016, the Freightos Marketplace has provided instant freight comparison, booking, and management of freight services for thousands of US importers and exporters of all sizes. The United Kingdom has been selected as the first new market for expanding Freightos’ vision of affordable and transparent logistics, to be followed by a rollout into other major import/export hubs.
Since jumpstarting global maritime commerce in the 19th century, the UK has maintained its status as a major driver of global trade. In 2015, it was the ninth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer worldwide, with combined annual global trade valued at £797 billion.
While the freight industry is massive, its technology is stuck in the 1970s. Inaccessible information, lack of transparency, and offline communications result in companies wasting days on freight quoting and overpaying on shipping by as much as 40%. Freightos is changing that with sophisticated pricing/routing algorithms, the world’s largest freight rate database, and dozens of online sellers. In only months, the Freightos Marketplace has brought better and more affordable freight to thousands of businesses, making global trade as seamless as booking flights online.
“Our team’s been pursuing frictionless global trade for years and we’ve now reached the tipping point. By expanding to the UK, we’re making global freight easier for UK retailers, importers, manufacturers, and exporters,” said Dr. Zvi Schreiber, the UK-born CEO and founder of Freightos. “Pax Britannica paved the way for unprecedented global trade in the 19th century, triggering the gradual build-up to over $19 trillion dollars worth of goods imported and exported annually. Global trade has reached record heights. It’s now time to turn towards technology to help propel it even further.”
Logistics efficiencies driven by automation and transparency will help counteract import/export concerns regarding the Brexit’s impact on free trade agreements, ensuring that in an era of trade change, global markets remain accessible for businesses big and small. The U.K. market is essential to European trade: the top export destinations of the United Kingdom are the United States (£42.4B), Germany (£30.6B), Switzerland (£25.2B), China (£21.4B), and the Netherlands (£18.5B). The top import origins are Germany (£72.7B), China (£48.6B), the United States (£34.7B), the Netherlands (£34.4B) and France (£29.1B).
