Uber Freight Builds Out European 4PL Operations with Krakow Expansion
Uber Freight is expanding its European logistics operation with a new control tower planned for Krakow, Poland, dedicated technology investment and a new regional head, as the company looks to connect more of its North American managed transportation business with customers operating across Europe.
The move is an expansion of an existing European fourth-party logistics operation rather than a return to the digital freight brokerage market Uber exited six years ago. Uber sold its European freight brokerage business to sennder in 2020, before acquiring Transplace for approximately $2.25 billion in 2021. Transplace brought an established managed transportation business in Europe into the enlarged Uber Freight organisation.
Uber Freight is now pursuing companies that want a logistics partner to manage transportation networks across carriers, modes and national borders, supported by a common Transportation Management System rather than simply matching individual loads with available trucks.
Europe offers considerable room in which to develop that model. Transport Intelligence valued the European road freight market at €440.4 billion in 2025, following real growth of 1.4%, and forecasts it will reach approximately €447.6 billion in 2026. Eurostat recorded 13.29 billion tonnes of goods transported by road within the EU during 2025, 1.8% more than the previous year.
For Uber Freight, the immediate opportunity is less about taking a slice of that enormous market than extending relationships it already has with multinational shippers.
Briefing
- Uber Freight is expanding its European 4PL operation with additional investment in technology, operations and customer services.
- A new control tower and operations hub is planned for Krakow, Poland, in 2027, complementing existing operations in the Netherlands.
- Mike Doucleff has been appointed Head of Europe after previously leading Alpitronic’s entry into the US market.
- Chemicals are an early target sector, with OXEA selecting Uber Freight for a transportation management operation spanning North America and Europe.
- The European business derives from Uber Freight’s acquisition of Transplace and is separate from the European freight brokerage operation sold to sennder in 2020.
Extending North American Relationships into Europe
Uber Freight says the number of new 4PL deals it secured in Europe doubled during 2025. Its expansion strategy is partly built around North American customers that also have substantial European supply chains and would prefer to reduce the number of logistics providers managing them.
The model differs considerably from conventional freight brokerage. A 4PL provider can sit above individual carriers and logistics companies, coordinating transport procurement, planning, execution, performance data and technology across a shipper’s network. The provider does not necessarily need to move the freight itself. Its role is to orchestrate the companies that do.
Uber Freight describes its managed transportation model as covering daily freight operations, carrier management, performance tracking and cost governance. A manufacturer operating plants and distribution networks on both sides of the Atlantic can potentially run more of its transportation through a common management structure while retaining the regional carriers and modes needed to execute individual movements.
Rebecca Tinucci, CEO of Uber Freight, described the problem in terms of the fragmentation that remains common within international logistics.
“Logistics is global by nature, but too often it’s managed through disconnected partners and regional silos,” said Rebecca Tinucci, CEO of Uber Freight. “The more of that complexity we can bring together, the simpler and more efficient it becomes for customers to run their global supply chains. That’s the opportunity we see in Europe.”
Europe remains a difficult environment in which to standardise freight management. National markets, languages, regulations, tolling systems and carrier structures coexist with extensive cross-border movement, while road freight is supplemented by rail, inland waterways and short-sea services on many international routes.
Krakow Adds a Second European Operations Base
Uber Freight plans to establish a control tower and operations hub in Krakow during 2027, adding to its existing operation in the Netherlands. The company is also increasing its customer-facing operations and Customer Service & Success teams.
Poland is an important location for European road transport in its own right, sitting between Western European markets and supply chains extending through Central and Eastern Europe. Transport Intelligence expects Poland and Spain to be among Europe’s faster-growing road freight markets over the coming years, while growth in larger economies including Germany, France and Italy is expected to be slower.
The control tower concept is particularly relevant to the 4PL model. Rather than operating as a physical freight terminal, such facilities provide centralised management of transportation activity, bringing together shipment planning, carrier performance, exception management and network visibility.
Uber Freight is also assigning dedicated product and engineering resources to its European operation, with work focused on the Transportation Management System experience for European shippers. Transport management software developed around North American freight cannot simply assume that European transport networks behave in the same way. Cross-border movements, multimodal operations, regional carrier markets and regulatory requirements create different operational demands.
Uber Freight already has experience adapting the Transplace platform to European operations. Its European customers have included McBride, where implementation of the company’s TMS was completed in phases between 2021 and 2023. The latest investment puts additional engineering resources behind that European operation.
Chemicals Provide an Early Test
Chemical logistics has been identified as an early growth area, placing the 4PL proposition into one of transportation’s more demanding operating environments.
Chemical supply chains can combine road tankers, packaged freight, intermodal rail and short-sea movements while introducing additional requirements around safety, documentation, equipment and regulatory compliance. Production networks can also extend across several countries and continents, making transport management considerably more complicated than the movement of relatively standardised consumer products.
OXEA provides an early example of the transatlantic model. The global chemical manufacturer has selected Uber Freight to manage transportation across the United States, Canada, Mexico and Europe, in what Uber Freight describes as its first 4PL engagement designed from the beginning to cover both North America and Europe.
Bret L. Bement, Vice President of Supply Chain Management at OXEA, said the company’s logistics requirements could not sensibly be separated along geographical lines.
“Our supply chain doesn’t stop at a border. With global customers and sourcing locations, we must be connected across regions,” said Bret L. Bement, VP, Supply Chain Management at OXEA. “I’ve worked with Uber Freight before and know what this team can do. We wanted one partner across North America and Europe who wouldn’t just manage our transportation, but would also continuously look for ways to improve the network and help us serve our customers more reliably.”
The contract puts the model into practice across two continents and several modes of transport, rather than treating Europe as an independent regional operation.
From Brokerage to Managed Transportation
Uber’s previous experience in European freight makes the structure of the current expansion particularly interesting.
The company launched Uber Freight with a strong digital brokerage proposition, applying software and marketplace principles to the traditional process of connecting shippers and carriers. In 2020, however, Uber divested its European freight brokerage operation to Berlin-based sennder.
The European operation now being expanded arrived through a different route. Uber Freight acquired Transplace in 2021, combining its digital freight technology and carrier marketplace with a much larger managed transportation business. By 2022 the organisations were operating under the common Uber Freight name.
The acquisition allowed Uber Freight to take responsibility for much broader sections of a customer’s transportation operation rather than relying primarily on transactions between shippers and carriers. The current European investment follows that managed transportation model.
It also arrives in a freight market where growth remains relatively modest. Transport Intelligence estimates that European road freight expanded by 1.4% in real terms during 2025 and expects growth of approximately 1.6% during 2026. International road freight is expected to grow faster than domestic activity, but operators continue to contend with regulatory costs, fleet transition requirements and uneven economic conditions.
Rather than competing solely for additional freight volume, 4PL providers can concentrate on transport procurement, network utilisation and visibility across freight flows that already exist.
New Leadership for Europe
Mike Doucleff has been appointed Head of Europe and reports directly to Uber Freight CEO Rebecca Tinucci.
Doucleff brings more than two decades of experience in Europe and the United States. Most recently, he led the US market entry of Italian high-power electric vehicle charging manufacturer Alpitronic. Before that, he spent much of his career with Schneider Electric in commercial and operational roles, eventually leading its global eMobility business.
His background fits a European operation targeting multinational industrial customers with factories, warehouses, carriers and procurement teams distributed across several countries. Established logistics arrangements of that scale tend to involve multiple systems and providers rather than something that can be replaced as a single transaction.
“Uber Freight has built a strong foundation in Europe, and I see an enormous opportunity to build on that momentum,” said Doucleff. “I’ve spent much of my career working in Europe and the U.S., and I’ve seen firsthand what it takes to build and scale a business across markets. I’m excited to bring that experience to Uber Freight and get to work.” Doucleff joined Uber Freight on 28 September.
From Freight Marketplace to Network Management
The Krakow investment fits a broader evolution in Uber Freight since the Transplace acquisition.
Digital load matching remains part of the company’s capabilities, but managed transportation places it much deeper inside a customer’s operation. The technology has to support procurement, planning, carrier management, shipment execution, performance measurement and decisions about how the wider network should operate.
That creates a different commercial relationship. Freight brokerage can be highly transactional, while a 4PL relationship can become embedded within the customer’s transport organisation and technology infrastructure, making performance and integration more important than the number of individual loads booked through a marketplace.
Europe provides a demanding environment for that approach. Its road freight market is enormous but fragmented, cross-border movements are routine, multimodal alternatives are well established and transport costs are increasingly influenced by environmental regulation and national charging regimes.
Uber Freight does not need to recreate its North American freight network in Europe. Its European proposition rests on whether the technology, operational expertise and data developed around that network can improve the management of transportation across a very different freight market. The Krakow control tower, dedicated European engineering resources and the OXEA contract will put that proposition into operation.
Key Industry Questions
- What is Uber Freight expanding in Europe? Uber Freight is expanding its fourth-party logistics and managed transportation operation, including technology, customer services and a new control tower in Krakow.
- Is Uber Freight returning to European freight brokerage? No. The current expansion concerns the 4PL business inherited through Transplace. Uber sold its previous European digital freight brokerage operation to sennder in 2020.
- When will the Krakow operation open? Uber Freight plans to establish its Krakow control tower and operations hub during 2027.
- Where does Uber Freight currently operate in Europe? Its established European 4PL operation is based in the Netherlands, with Krakow planned as its second European location.
- Why is Uber Freight targeting chemical logistics? Chemical supply chains frequently involve cross-border, multimodal transportation with demanding safety, documentation and regulatory requirements. Uber Freight has identified the sector as an early growth area for its European 4PL business.
- Who is leading Uber Freight in Europe? Mike Doucleff became Head of Europe on 28 September 2026, reporting to CEO Rebecca Tinucci.
- How large is the European road freight market? Transport Intelligence estimates the market was worth approximately €440.4 billion in 2025 and forecasts around €447.6 billion for 2026.
- What is the difference between a freight broker and a 4PL provider? A broker primarily arranges transportation between shippers and carriers. A 4PL provider can manage a broader transport network on the customer’s behalf, including planning, procurement, technology, carriers, execution and performance management.
Strategic Takeaways
- Uber Freight’s European expansion is centred on managed transportation rather than rebuilding the digital brokerage operation it sold in 2020.
- Existing multinational customers provide a route for extending North American relationships into European logistics without developing every customer relationship from scratch.
- Krakow adds an operational base in a region important to European manufacturing and cross-border road freight.
- Dedicated European engineering resources indicate that localisation of the TMS platform forms part of the investment.
- Chemical logistics gives Uber Freight an early test of its transatlantic 4PL model across road, rail and short-sea transportation.
