MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. and GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — Self-driving trucking company Kodiak Robotics Inc. has entered into a dedicated agreement with transportation services company Forward Air to operate autonomous freight service 24 hours per day, six days per week (24/6) between Dallas and Atlanta, making three round trips weekly.
“Providing consistent, 24/6 service creates significant operational and technical complexities,” a news release stated. “Despite these challenges, Kodiak has maintained a perfect safety record and provided top-quality customer service to Forward. To date, Kodiak has delivered more than 100 loads and driven more than 100,000 miles since it began working with Forward in August 2022. In order to maintain the demanding schedule and abide by the hours-of-service regulations, Kodiak’s self-driving truck operates with a safety driver team overseeing the autonomous system.”
Forward Chairman and CEO Tom Schmitt said that in order to serve the company’s customers, “we always need to be on the forefront of exploring emerging technologies. Kodiak has earned an outstanding reputation in safe autonomous trucking, and this collaboration allows us to explore potential benefits to our business. While we don’t see autonomous trucks replacing independent contractor capacity, this could potentially be a scalable solution for certain lanes in our network.”
Kodiak’s agreement with Forward is the latest in a growing series of fleet and carrier relationships the company has announced. Previously, the company announced partnerships with IKEA, Werner Enterprises, U.S. Xpress, 10 Roads Express and CEVA Logistics.
“We are proving out our business model by moving time-sensitive freight across thousands of miles and multiple hours of service through our collaboration with Forward,” Don Burnette, Founder and CEO of Kodiak Robotics, said. “The tweener lane between Dallas and Atlanta is long and difficult to staff, so it perfectly illustrates how autonomous trucks can make the supply chain more efficient and resilient and supplement our customers’ human driven fleets. At the same time, we are showcasing the reliability and ruggedness of our autonomous system, which is able to operate for six days straight without needing rest or recalibration — a significant achievement.”
The Trucker News Staff produces engaging content for not only TheTrucker.com, but also The Trucker Newspaper, which has been serving the trucking industry for more than 30 years. With a focus on drivers, the Trucker News Staff aims to provide relevant, objective content pertaining to the trucking segment of the transportation industry. The Trucker News Staff is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Easily the most dangerous lane. Anything autonomous must be stopped. It’s a danger to the public. Up to and including doing whatever is necessary when you see one of these vehicles operating. We have 7 billion on this planet. Replacing humans shouldn’t be a priority. Boycott both these companies. Anyone driving for forward air today should quit. Now is the time to stand up. Stand up to this and everything else going on in our country and in our world. Don’t ignore. ACT.
Three round trips is a joke. Lol. It’s only 4700 miles a week. We have teams at (UPS)that do 6200-6600 miles a week with perfect accident free records. This is just a showcase for wallstreet at an attempt for more investors to dump money into Kodiak.