Uber Freight, one of a handful of providers at the forefront of providing drivers with apps to digitally match capacity with available loads, said it will be investing $200 million annually in the Chicago region. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com.

The digital freight broker Uber Freight said Monday it is creating a new headquarters for its freight operations in Chicago, underscoring how a logistics technology cluster is building around the nation’s largest freight hub. 

The San Francisco-based company, which launched its freight division in 2016, will expand its existing operations in Chicago, including housing its first engineering department outside of the San Francisco area. Uber Freight currently operates from offices in San Francisco, Chicago, and Amsterdam.

Uber Freight, one of a handful of providers at the forefront of providing drivers with apps to digitally match capacity with available loads, said it will be investing $200 million annually in the Chicago region through headcount, real estate investment, and other expenses to support its local operations.

“We’ll grow our team significantly, hiring thousands of new team members,” the company said in a statement.

Chicago has long been a hub for domestic freight and is increasingly seen as a hotbed for logistics engineering talent. Other prominent startup technology providers and technology-oriented brokerages in the city include project44, FourKites, Forager Logistics, MoLo Solutions, and CoLane, while a number of freight brokerages, including Echo Global Logistics and Redwood Logistics, are Chicago-based.

Contact Eric Johnson at eric.johnson@ihsmarkit.com and follow him on Twitter: @LogTechEric.