Bridgestone Americas is working with logistics provider JB Hunt Transport Services and Kodiak on weekly deliveries of passenger car tyres between South Carolina and Dallas using autonomous trucks.
JB Hunt is transporting trailers of tyres to and from Bridgestone facilities and Kodiak hubs, using the technology provider’s hub-to-hub autonomous delivery model. From Bridgestone’s Aiken plant in Graniteville, South Carolina, JB Hunt is moving the tyres to Kodiak’s Atlanta-area autonomous truckport in Villa Rica, Georgia. From there Kodiak is providing its autonomous trucks for the long-haul route between Atlanta and Dallas, which covers 1,200km and takes 16 hours. A team of two Kodiak safety drivers oversee the operation of the autonomous truck.
At Kodiak’s Lancaster hub in Texas, JB Hunt once again picks up the tyres and delivers them the remaining 80km to Bridgestone’s Roanoke distribution centre.
JB Hunt said it is also providing its network of 14,000+ company trailers – the JB Hunt 360box – to secure capacity for the return trip from Dallas, preventing empty miles and improving route efficiency. The 360box programme identifies customers with live and drop freight requirements along the return route. Kodiak then completes the delivery autonomously to Atlanta and JB Hunt transports the load to its next destination.
The collaboration, which began in January this year, has now surpassed 50,000 autonomous long-haul trucking miles, according to JB Hunt. The logistics provider said there had been no accidents and the service had achieved 100% on-time pick-up and delivery. The companies have now expanded the collaboration to include additional weekly deliveries along the route.
“As part of our evolution into a global leader in sustainable mobility solutions, Bridgestone joined forces with Kodiak and JB Hunt to prove that autonomous long-haul shipping is more than just a daydream; it’s happening right now,” said Brad Blizzard, vice-president of logistics operations and product delivery at Bridgestone. “We are excited to be expanding our routes, growing this partnership, and investing in the mobility of the future.”
Don Burnette, founder and CEO of Kodiak Robotics said: “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.”
Bridgestone first announced a partnership with and minority investment in Kodiak in June 2021. As part of the partnership Bridgeston is supplying its smart-sensing tyre technology for Kodiak’s autonomous trucks and is Kodiak’s exclusive tyre supplier.
JB Hunt also provides Bridgestone with pickup and delivery services for multiple customer locations throughout the US.
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