Maersk and Kodiak Robotics have launched the first commercial autonomous trucking lane between Houston and Oklahoma City.
The collaboration between the two companies began in November 2022 as part of Maersk’s Global Innovation Center Program. Kodiak has been delivering eight loads per week, with a safety driver behind the wheel, for Maersk customers since August.
Additionally, Kodiak and Maersk are completing four round trips per week on a 24-hour-a-day, four-day-a-week basis between a Houston facility, where consumer products are loaded onto 53-foot trailers, to a distribution center in Oklahoma City.
According to Maersk, the operational learnings gained from the activity are captured and documented as part of the Kodiak Partner Deployment Program, which is designed to help companies learn how Kodiak’s self-driving trucks can become an integral part of their overall logistics strategy and offerings.
“Hauling commercial freight gives us the opportunity to work together to integrate Kodiak’s autonomous trucking solution into Maersk’s operations. As the first autonomous trucking company to establish this new commercial lane between Houston and Oklahoma City, we are demonstrating our team’s ability to introduce new lanes and bring new efficiencies to the entire logistics industry,” commented Don Burnette, founder and CEO of Kodiak.
Autonomous trucking solutions have the potential to address long-term challenges faced by the trucking industry. According to the American Trucking Association (ATA), the trucking industry faces a shortage of roughly 78,000 drivers.
The ATA estimates that, based on current driver demographic trends, as well as projected growth in freight demand, the shortage could swell to more than 160,000 over the next decade.
