Kakao Mobility to tap freight transport market with app

Kakao Mobility will release its own freight transportation service dubbed "Kakao T Trucker" in October. [KAKAO MOBILITY]

Kakao Mobility is jumping into the freight delivery business with the release of its own freight transportation service in October and is hoping the business turns into a cash cow.

Before the official launch of its app “Kakao T Trucker,” the company is accepting potential drivers from Tuesday to Oct. 16. The app automizes all parts of the hub-to-hub delivery process, from hunting for new orders to payment, much like its taxi-hailing service Kakao Taxi.

Hub-to-hub delivery refers to the middle stage of transportation of goods and cargo between distribution centers, warehouses or regional hubs.

“Kakao Mobility formed a partnership with Korea Freight Forwarders Association in 2022 and has been deliberating on ways to formulate a sustainable digital logistics ecosystem,” the company said in a statement. “Conventionally, it took 30 to 60 days for carriers to receive their payment. For Kakao T Trucker, it will take an hour for them to receive their fee.”

Kakao Mobility is the latest to join a string of other companies branching into the freight transportation business, such as Tmap Mobility as well as mobile carrier KT and LG Uplus.

The companies hope to tap the local market for an industry that currently has no dominant leaders. The market size is estimated at 33 trillion won ($24.7 billion) this year according to Korea Transport Institute data. For 2021, the figure was 31 trillion won.

Tmap Mobility navigation service fully acquired freight matching service Your Logics Partner (YLP) in 2021 to release a platform dubbed “Tmap Freight” in February 2023. The service integrates all logistics processes from the cargo amount, matching and payment under one platform as well as providing the cheapest option for the freight charge based on trucker demand and supply.

KT released freight matching platform Brokarry in May 2022 which currently has over 10,000 truckers and 160 shippers.

LG Uplus will also release a matchup platform sometime in the latter half of this year. CJ Logistics also began operating its digital freight transportation platform “The Unban” in July.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]