An ongoing weekly delivery pilot between JB Hunt Transport Services, one of the largest supply-chain solution providers in North America, tire manufacturer Bridgestone Americas, and autonomous trucking company Kodiak Robotics, has surpassed 50,000 autonomous long-haul trucking miles.
Using Kodiak autonomous trucks to ship Bridgestone passenger car tires between South Carolina and Dallas, Texas since January, the autonomous route operated by JB Hunt has reportedly been driven with no accidents and achieved 100% on-time pick-up and delivery.
The companies have since expanded the collaboration to include additional weekly deliveries along the route.
The long-haul stretch of the route from Atlanta, Georgia to Dallas – approximately 750 miles (1,207km) and 16 hours – is completed using Kodiak autonomous driving technology, which is fitted with Bridgestone M719 drive tires and R213 steer tires.
JB Hunt transports the trailers to and from Bridgestone facilities and Kodiak hubs, leveraging JB Hunt’s 360box network of 14,000-plus 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 Nick Hobbs, chief operating officer and president of contract services at JB Hunt.
“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.”
Bridgestone announced an investment in and partnership with Kodiak in June 2021. As part of the partnership, Bridgestone has integrated its smart-sensing tire technologies into Kodiak’s autonomous trucks and have integrated smart tire technologies to further enhance vehicle intelligence. Bridgestone is also Kodiak’s exclusive tire supplier.
Additionally, JB Hunt provides Bridgestone with pickup and delivery services for multiple customer locations throughout the USA.
Inside the autonomous trucking project
- JB Hunt moves the load from Bridgestone’s Aiken Passenger Tire 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 continuous operation of the autonomous truck.
- JB Hunt transports the load approximately 50 miles (80km) from Lancaster to Bridgestone’s Roanoke distribution centre.
- For the trip from Dallas to Atlanta, JB Hunt leverages its 360box programme to identify additional customers with live and drop freight needs along that route. Kodiak completes the delivery autonomously to Atlanta, and then JB Hunt transports the load to its next destination.
