Flock Freight: Shared Truckload Isn’t a Gimmick
"You don’t need to own the truck—you just need to fill it better."
Most logistics tech pitches I hear sound great until you look at the margins. Digital freight brokers, routing apps, asset-light carrier platforms—they all promise optimization, but few actually deliver something materially better for the shipper or the carrier.
Flock Freight is different.
What they’re building isn’t a marketplace tweak. It’s a new freight category. Shared Truckload (STL) is a model that solves real inefficiencies in middle-mile logistics. And after years of hype around “disruption,” this one actually moves freight better.
The Middle Mile Is Broken
If you’ve ever had to move freight that’s too big for parcel but not big enough for a full truck, you know the options are painful.
LTL (less-than-truckload) is slow, damage-prone, and often unreliable. Shipments get consolidated at terminals, tossed across forklifts multiple times, and delayed by handoffs.
FTL (full truckload) is fast and clean—but expensive. And it often means shipping half a trailer’s worth of product with half a trailer’s worth of wasted space.
That’s the gap Flock Freight decided to close. Their STL model pools multiple shipments onto one truck—but without the terminal handoffs, cross-docks, or stop-start service you get with LTL.
What They Built: STL as a Product, Not a Hack
Flock Freight was founded in 2015 by Oren Zaslansky, a former trucking company operator. Unlike other freight startups that launched from the tech world, Flock was built by someone who actually moved freight.
The company has since raised over $400 million from SoftBank, GV, SignalFire, and Volvo. Their valuation hit $1.3 billion in 2022, and they’ve quietly become one of the most interesting players in the logistics space.
The core product? Shared truckload:
Freight from multiple shippers pooled onto a single truck
Direct delivery—no terminals or transfers
Delivered with FTL-level service at a price point closer to LTL
All routed and priced using a proprietary, patented algorithm
It’s not just load consolidation—it’s data-driven route optimization that works in real time and at national scale.
What Makes the Tech Actually Work
Flock’s patented system is what makes this whole thing possible.
I’ve seen pooling models before, but they break down fast when you add real-world constraints—pickup windows, load compatibility, route density, equipment types. Flock Freight solves that with a platform that layers intelligence onto every leg of the trip.
Here’s what stood out:
Freight Graph Matching: They use historical and real-time shipment data to identify which loads can share a route without impacting SLA. It’s not just geography—it’s timing, density, and trailer utilization.
Terminal-Free Routing: STL avoids the LTL terminal system entirely. Freight stays on one truck, which means fewer handoffs, less damage, and tighter ETAs.
Dynamic Pricing Engine: Their quoting system considers real-time route demand, carrier capacity, and profit margins—then balances it in milliseconds. Instant quote, margin-aware, SLA-backed.
Multi-Stop Optimization: Unlike static route brokers, Flock dynamically sequences delivery points based on trailer fill, detention risk, and backhaul value.
Carrier-Side Benefits: Better Pay, Better Utilization
It’s not just shippers who win. Carriers love STL for a reason.
With STL, they:
Get paid more per mile by filling underutilized space
Avoid deadhead with pooled multi-shipper loads
Reduce OSD claims (fewer damages = fewer write-offs)
Can run more predictable lanes with less time in terminals
This is especially powerful for owner-operators and midsize fleets who don’t have drop trailer pools or dense backhaul networks. STL gives them access to density without complexity.
Shipper Use Cases That Actually Matter
Flock isn’t selling buzzwords. They’ve got real logos using the platform:
Sierra Nevada Brewing uses STL to avoid damage to its fragile SKUs during peak season
Blue Diamond Growers pools loads of almonds to get faster delivery without paying FTL premiums
Fender ships guitars via STL to reduce breakage and improve delivery consistency
This isn’t theory—it’s actual product getting shipped better.
Sustainability as a Sales Wedge
One of the more strategic parts of Flock’s positioning is how they lead with sustainability. Because their pooling model fills trucks more efficiently, they cut down on empty miles and reduce emissions by up to 40% per shipment.
They’re a certified EPA SmartWay partner, and they’ve offered carbon-neutral STL via verified offsets.
In a world where shippers are being asked for ESG accountability—and fast—this is a very real wedge into enterprise procurement.
Challenges Ahead: The Density Question
Of course, no model is bulletproof. STL relies on network density. If Flock doesn’t have enough volume in a given lane or region, they can’t make STL viable without compromising SLA or margin.
That’s why I see them pushing hard into enterprise accounts: more predictable volume, more consistent lanes, more pooling potential.
Their moat isn’t just the algorithm. It’s the data flywheel: more shippers, more routes, more pooling options, tighter optimization.
If they get there, STL doesn’t just become a product. It becomes infrastructure.
Final Thought: Not a Marketplace. A Freight Model.
When I first heard about STL, I thought: “Okay, this is LTL with lipstick.” But I was wrong. Flock Freight isn’t just moving partial loads. They’re redefining how we fill trucks.
In a market obsessed with load boards, this is actual innovation:
Tech that reduces waste
Routing that creates value
A model that works for both sides of the network
The freight industry doesn’t need more platforms. It needs better physics.
Flock Freight figured that out. And for once, the hype feels earned.
