“Now we can use the app to look at jobs where we are and where we’re going and get all the information and pricing on the load,” he said.

Payment is also more efficient through the app, Mr. Knaup said. It takes an average of three days for his company to be paid after its driver has scanned in the paperwork for a completed job, rather than the industry average of two weeks, he said.

Ms. Paul said on-demand brokerage services like Convoy were one of “the hottest technologies in the trucking industry globally.” An app that can take the place of countless emails and phone calls and provide load and truck availability, rate negotiations, proof-of-delivery and payments is extremely valuable to trucker and shipping company alike.

As part of an industry study, Ms. Paul estimated that services like Convoy’s were expected to grow rapidly, from posting $210 million in broker fees in North America in 2017 to $6.7 billion in 2025. The efficiencies are not expected to cause any truckers to lose their jobs because there is a shortage of over 60,000 of them in the United States, according to the American Trucking Associations.

The apps also promise a positive environmental impact. Improving efficiency means fewer empty trucks on the road, which would lower carbon emissions.

More than 40 companies just in North America have been founded in this business over the last seven years, including Uber Freight, Loadsmart and Transfix, attracting billions of dollars in investment, according to Ms. Paul. Traditional brokers and logistics companies are also trying to modernize their operations, she added.