American logistics company, J.B. Hunt, has surpassed more than 80,000 autonomous long-haul trucking kilometres.
The result, the company said, is thanks to a collaboration with autonomous trucking company, Kodiak Robotics, and Bridgestone. The company’s autonomous trucks have been used to ship Bridgestone passenger car tyres with no accidents and a 100 per cent on time pick up and delivery record.
Using Kodiak’s hub-to-hub autonomous delivery model, the 1200 kilometre long-haul stretch of the route is completed using Kodiak autonomous driving technology, which is fitted with Bridgestone M719 drive tyres and R213 steer tyres.
The companies leverage J.B. Hunt 360box, a fluid network of 14,000-plus company trailers, to secure capacity for the return trip from Dallas, preventing empty miles and improving route efficiency.
“Working closely with Kodiak and Bridgestone, we were able to deliver a complementary solution that integrates autonomous technology with day-to-day operations while also solving backhaul challenges,” said Chief Operating Officer and President of Contract Services at J.B. Hunt, Nick Hobbs. “It’s a great example of how our mode-neutral approach can leverage multiple service offerings to produce efficient, value-driven solutions unique to our customers’ needs.”
The collaboration provides a round-trip solution for delivering Bridgestone passenger car tyres and minimising empty miles.
- J.B. Hunt moves the load from Bridgestone’s plant in Graniteville, South Carolina to Kodiak’s Atlanta-area autonomous truckport in Villa Rica, Georgia.
- Kodiak autonomous trucks complete the long-haul stretch of the route from Atlanta to Kodiak’s Lancaster, Texas facility. A two-person-team of Kodiak safety drivers oversee the seamless and continuous operation of the autonomous truck.
- J.B. Hunt transports the load approximately 80 kilometres from Lancaster to Bridgestone’s Roanoke distribution centre.
- For the trip from Dallas to Atlanta, J.B. Hunt leverages its J.B. Hunt 360box program to identify additional customers with live and drop freight needs along that route. Kodiak completes the delivery autonomously to Atlanta, and then J.B. Hunt transports the load to its next destination.
“Demonstrating the efficacy of our middle mile model and improving operational efficiencies for our customers sets us all on a course for rapid and sustainable growth,” said Kodiak Founder & CEO, Don Burnette.
The companies have expanded the collaboration to include additional weekly deliveries along the route.
In other news, Ecolab has reappointed DHL Supply Chain for an additional three years.
