New reality TV show features uShip & owner-operators

Six owner-operators and uShip, an online transportation marketplace, are the “stars” of a new reality TV show set to debut on Jan. 10 on A&E.

The show follows five independent carriers, including one team (using everything from pick-up trucks to Class 8 tractor-trailers) who have decided that fortunes might be made “transporting items that traditional carriers won’t touch.” The 10-episode, half-hour series begins with back-to-back episodes Tuesday, Jan. 10 beginning at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

(To see a clip from the new show, click here)

Dean Jutilla, a spokesperson for uShip, told Fleet Owner that the series centers on competition among the owner-operators for who can make the most profit hauling various specialized loads. Each program follows the truckers from the bidding process to the delivery point, calculating costs of operation all along the way. The winner is the one who has the most to show for their efforts.

Launched in 2004, uShip is “an online shipping marketplace that connects people with customer-reviewed transport companies that can move hard-to-ship items such as cars, motorcycles, boats, household goods, LTL (less-than-truckload), FTL (full truckload), heavy equipment, horses and more. Transporters place competing bids to win a customer’s business.”

(For pictures of the cast, click here)

Today, the privately held company operates globally with localized functionality in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Austria, the European Union, Canada and Australia.

By the way, don’t let the title of the new series fool you. A&E has dubbed it “Shipping Wars,” leveraging off the success of an earlier series called “Storage Wars.” The independent truckers are accordingly called “shippers,” but you’ll know what they mean.

“Shipping Wars” is produced by Megalomedia for A&E Network. The executive producer is Jonathan Nowzaradan. Co-executive producers are Tom Mireles, Jeff Keels and Graham Davidson. A&E executive producers are David McKillop, Elaine Frontain Bryant, and Neil A. Cohen.