Kodiak Robotics and U.S. Xpress Announce Partnership; Pilot Continuous Autonomous Freight Operations Between Dallas-Fort Worth and Atlanta

By Running Round-The-Clock Between Dallas-Fort Worth and Atlanta, Kodiak and U.S. Xpress Demonstrate the Real-World Advantages of Autonomous Trucking

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. and CHATTANOOGA, Tenn., April 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Kodiak Robotics, Inc., a leading self-driving trucking company, announced today that it has teamed up with U.S. Xpress, one of America's largest carrier fleets, to launch Level 4 autonomous freight service between Dallas-Fort Worth and Atlanta using Kodiak's self-driving trucks. U.S. Xpress will become the first cornerstone truckload partner in Kodiak's Partner Deployment Program, working hand-in-hand with Kodiak to deploy self-driving technology. This strategic partnership also marks the launch of the first commercial autonomous trucking lane to the East Coast.

A Kodiak truck and U.S. Xpress trailers completed a first-of-its-kind pilot, hauling freight four round-trips (eight segments), approximately 6,350 miles, delivering eight commercial loads between Dallas and Atlanta in late March. The truck ran 24 hours a day for 131 total hours, or nearly five-and-a-half full days. The results represent a more than 100% increase in utilization compared to a traditional truck and professional driver with 11 hours of service limit. By increasing the number of hours a truck can be used per day to 20+ hours, autonomous trucks will allow carriers to haul more freight with fewer trucks, increasing revenue while decreasing costs. As part of this partnership, a Kodiak autonomous tractor picked up and delivered U.S. Xpress pre-loaded trailers. A rotating team of four professional Kodiak safety drivers oversaw the autonomous system. 

"This pilot demonstrated to our operations teams and our customers the benefits that can come with autonomous technology," said Eric Fuller, President and CEO of U.S. Xpress. "We fundamentally believe that Kodiak's autonomous technology will allow us to scale our fleet while increasing truck utilization compared to a human-driven truck. Our strategic partnership is helping both of our teams identify ways to quickly integrate and scale autonomous technology into our fleet once it is commercially available."

The route between Dallas and Atlanta is a perfect entry point for continuous autonomous operations because it's slightly longer than what a driver is permitted to operate in a day but is too short to economically run as a team. This pilot also represents the first-ever autonomous freight deliveries between Dallas and Atlanta.

"Our partnership with U.S. Xpress marks our service expansion to the East Coast," said Don Burnette, Founder and CEO of Kodiak. "We believe it is the furthest east any company has delivered multiple loads using autonomous technology. Having the capacity to sustain 24/7 operations across the more than 750 miles between Dallas and Atlanta — two of our nation's busiest freight hubs — represents a giant step forward for Kodiak, and for the AV trucking industry as a whole. We chose to make U.S. Xpress a cornerstone partner in our Partner Deployment Program because we see U.S. Xpress and its Variant division as ideal long-term partners for the deployment and scaling of our autonomous long-haul solution."

This pilot is just the first step in the partnership between U.S. Xpress and Kodiak within Kodiak's Partner Deployment Program. Kodiak will continue to haul freight with U.S. Xpress between Dallas and Atlanta, as well as other lanes within the Kodiak network. By servicing lanes often deemed less desirable by professional truck drivers, autonomous trucks complement human drivers allowing them to focus on routes which can provide a more consistent schedule and predictable paycheck.

In addition to Dallas to Atlanta, Kodiak has been delivering freight daily on the 240-mile lane from Dallas to Houston since mid-2019, and on the 280-mile lane between Dallas and San Antonio since mid-2021. The company leverages its proprietary lightweight mapping solution to rapidly and safely add new lanes, including the recently announced launch of commercial operations between Dallas and Oklahoma City in February 2022.

About Kodiak Robotics, Inc.
Kodiak Robotics, Inc. was founded in 2018 to develop autonomous technology that carries freight forward — so people, partners, and the planet thrive. The company is developing an industry-leading technology stack purpose-built specifically for long-haul trucks, making the freight industry safer and more efficient. Kodiak's unique modular hardware approach integrates sensors into a streamlined sensor-pod structure that optimizes for perception, scalability, and maintainability. The company delivers freight daily for its customers along four routes in Texas and Oklahoma, operating autonomously on the highway portions of the routes. Learn more about Kodiak on the web at kodiak.ai, and on Medium, LinkedIn, and Twitter. You can find the company press kit HERE.

About U.S. Xpress Enterprises, Inc.
U.S. Xpress Enterprises, Inc. is on a mission to make goods move better every day. Since its founding in 1985, the company has evolved into a vital link in the supply chain, providing a portfolio of capacity solutions for its customers. This includes an established Dedicated fleet servicing some of the nation's largest shippers, along with innovative over-the-road (OTR) and brokerage solutions. Variant, the company's driver-first OTR division, is the fastest-growing fleet in the industry. U.S. Xpress' brokerage offering, Xpress Technologies, provides greater capacity for shippers, and for carriers, tools, and resources to better manage and grow their business. Powered by more than 8,600 professionals, these businesses are driving innovation across the industry and helping to shape the future of logistics.

SOURCE Kodiak Robotics