The Permian Basin, known for its huge deposits of oil and natural gas, now boasts the first successful customer launch for driverless truck delivery operations On Friday Kodiak Robotics and Atlas Energy Solutions announced that Atlas completed the delivery of 100 loads of proppant with two RoboTrucks equipped with Kodiak Driver, Kodiak’s self-driving system.
The RoboTrucks are part of Atlas’s...
Autonomous trucking developers knew the Commerce Department was on the cusp of slamming the door on certain Chinese components. In fact, this week’s preliminary rule came later than expected. Now they have to sort out what it means.
So far, they don’t have much to say. Of the leading driverless trucking companies – two of which could launch before the end of the year – only one, Plus, offered substantive comment. Others demurred or pointed to a less-than-substantive statement from the Autonomous...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/what-does-proposed-china-component-ban-mean-for-autonomous-trucks
Aurora Innovation is the latest autonomous trucking developer to announce longer routes than hub-to-hub operations in Texas. It helps make the real-world case for long-promised over-the-road driverless trucking that could dramatically reduce the cost of freight shipping.
Aurora said this week it will begin driver-supervised routes from Fort Worth and El Paso, Texas, to Phoenix next year. It plans to go driverless by the end of 2025.
‘Real benefits of AV start to be unlocked’“This is where you see...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/autonomous-trucks-in-the-long-run
WASHINGTON — If former President Donald Trump wins back the White House in November, The Heritage Foundation hopes he will embrace the organization’s policy playbook, which would reward autonomous trucking while slowing the timeline for electric vehicles (EVs).
Those objectives are outlined in the U.S. Department of Transportation chapter of the 900-page presidential transition “Mandate for Leadership” road map known as Project 2025, published by the conservative Heritage Foundation.
“Despite the...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/project-2025-pushes-automated-trucks-pumps-brakes-on-evs
On Wednesday, J.B. Hunt announced the completion of 50,000 autonomous long-haul trucking miles in a collaboration with autonomous trucking company Kodiak Robotics and Bridgestone Americas. The Kodiak autonomous trucks ship Bridgestone car tires between South Carolina and Dallas and have reported no accidents and 100% on-time pickup and delivery since launching in January.
FreightWaves’ Todd Maiden writes: “The...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/j-b-hunt-partnership-with-kodiak-reaches-50000-mile-milestone
J.B. Hunt Transport Services said Wednesday it has surpassed an autonomous trucking milestone, completing more than 50,000 miles using Kodiak Robotics’ driverless trucks. The two companies teamed up with Bridgestone to move car tires between South Carolina and Dallas.
J.B. Hunt (NASDAQ: JBHT) uses its own equipment to move the tires from a Bridgestone (JPX: 5108.T) plant in Graniteville, South Carolina, to a Kodiak hub near Atlanta. Using two-person safety driver teams, the Kodiak trucks...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/j-b-hunt-kodiak-break-50000-mile-mark-on-autonomous-lane
Less than three months after my generally upbeat visit to Workhorse Group’s refurbished plant near the Ohio-Indiana border, the electric truck maker’s situation appears dire.
Layoffs and furloughsWorkhorse has laid off 20% of its workforce. Much of the rest is on unpaid furlough and could be called back to work.
The company is choked with inventory. It has less than $7 million in cash on the books and accounts payable for more than twice that amount. At a projected burn rate less than Q1’s $5.5...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/workhorse-on-the-bubble-or-is-it-worse
Autonomous trucking regulation is already a state-by-state issue. In California, it may soon embody the adage “All politics are local.” Advocates of driverless vehicles see passage of newly introduced legislation as a death knell for the technology.
After vetoing legislation last year that would have required a human driver in autonomous vehicles over 10,000 pounds, California Gov. Gavin Newsom may again have to choose between two of his main constituencies: Big Tech and organized labor.
2 bills...https://www.freightwaves.com/news/autonomous-trucking-may-descend-the-rabbit-hole-of-local-politics