Bridgestone

Bridgestone to launch last-mile marketplace with AWS

Bridgestone facility

One of the transportation industry’s longest-running powerhouses is going digital.

Bridgestone Corp. (OCTUS: BRDCY), known as the world’s largest producer of tires, has announced it will be using Amazon Web Services to build a marketplace for last-mile services and fleet solutions.

The company said it will be working with AWS’ ProServe and AWS Marketplace teams, using machine learning, business intelligence services and Internet of Things technology to create a one-stop shop for fleet managers in...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/bridgestone-to-launch-last-mile-marketplace-with-aws

When the rubber meets the road, how will autonomous trucks handle blowouts?

A mangled tire on the rim of a semi

Tire blowouts lead to dozens of highway deaths every year. For autonomous trucks, they pose a prickly problem: how to regain control without a human driver at the wheel.

“We can talk about redundancy in our sensors, machine-learning algorithms and all this fancy stuff until we’re blue in the face,” said Don Burnette, co-founder and CEO of Kodiak Robotics. “But at the end of the day, if you press the brake pedal and your tires don’t respond, it’s not useful.”

Kodiak is working with Bridgestone...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/when-the-rubber-meets-the-road-how-will-autonomous-trucks-handle-blowouts

Einride founder relishes chance to compete in US freight market

Swedish technology and autonomous vehicle company Einride is officially operating in the U.S. and has launched a line of products designed for the U.S. market in conjunction with the announcement.

Known for the driverless Einride Pod — a cabless box on wheels — the company is adapting the model for the U.S. market through its new range of global products including the Einride Saga operator system. The U.S. will see a local version of the Pod as well as a Flatbed Pod.

In addition, Einride...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/einride-founder-relishes-chance-to-compete-in-us-freight-market

Borderlands: TexAmericas Center looks to expand rail transload business

Borderlands is a weekly rundown of developments in the world of United States-Mexico cross-border trucking and trade. This week: The TexAmericas Center looks to expand its rail transload business; Mexico’s exports of commercial trucks fell 11.3% in September; Bridgestone completes a $100 million expansion in Mexico, creating 150 jobs; and a cold storage facility is set for Southern California.

TexAmericas Center looks to expand rail transload business

The TexAmericas Center received an $865,000...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/texamericas-center-looks-to-expand-rail-transload-business

Truck Talk: Cost of change edition

This week, we look at the costs associated with changing corporate captains; tiremakers rolling into trucking autonomy and electrification, and static-free AM/FM radio in the Freightliner Cascadia.  

The cost of change

Leadership change can be expensive, both to remove a current CEO and to hire a new one. Here are three recent example as startups and early stage growth companies onboard operating experience in place of visionary or slow-moving leaders:

Lordstown Motors Corp.

The ouster of Steve...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/truck-talk-cost-of-change-edition

Kodiak Robotics getting more than tire data from Bridgestone partnership

Tiremaker Bridgestone Americas will integrate its smart-sensing technologies into autonomous trucks from Kodiak Robotics and make an undisclosed minority investment in the startup software developer..

The partnership announced Wednesday includes an observer role for the Japan-based company on San Francisco Bay area-based Kodiak’s board of directors. Kodiak hauls freight on Texas freeways with high-autonomy software monitored by a safety driver.

“Automated vehicles offer benefits to commercial...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/kodiak-robotics-getting-more-than-tire-data-from-bridgestone-partnership