Dive Brief:
- DHL Supply Chain has launched autonomous transportation services along two routes in Texas through a partnership with Volvo Autonomous Solutions, according to a Dec. 11 press release.
- The company is now hauling freight along the Dallas to Houston and Fort Worth to El Paso lanes using the Volvo VNL Autonomous. Trucks in the fleet are integrated with the Aurora Driver self-driving system.
- While DHL Supply Chain provides services in all sectors, this Texas launch is focused on retail freight, Jason Gillespie, senior director of continuous improvement and innovation, told Supply Chain Dive in an email.
Dive Insight:
DHL Supply Chain’s move to launch autonomous trucking is aimed at increasing freight capacity and optimizing supply chain efficiencies as the company aligns with digital transformation across the logistics sector. The company is focusing on Texas to start.
“It’s an important state in trucking: it moves more freight than any other state in the U.S and is also strategically located,” Gillespie said.
The logistics company also has a large warehouse footprint in Texas and serves several customers in the region as well, Gillespie said.
Other companies also aim to deploy AV operations in the state. Transportation company Ryder System and Kodiak Robots planned to launch autonomous trucks without human operators in Texas this year.
Driver shortages, increased freight demand and long transit times are additional hurdles DHL Supply Chain hopes to tackle with autonomous trucking, according to Gillespie.
“We believe that through autonomous transport solutions, we can address these challenges and pave the way for a safe, sustainable, and efficient future in which autonomous trucking will play an important role,” Gillespie said.
The transition to autonomous trucks in the transportation industry still faces a long road, particularly when it comes to insurance considerations, experts told Trucking Dive.
“Plenty of questions remain unanswered, like whether premiums will go up or down, how risk will be assessed, and who or what is to blame in a crash,” Timothy Good, president of Good’s Insurance Agency said.
