J.B Hunt and Kodiak Robotics hit autonomous driving milestone with no accidents

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) is getting more involved in the autonomous trucking industry. The company recently updated that through its ongoing weekly delivery collaboration with Kodiak Robotics that it has surpassed 50,000 autonomous long-haul trucking miles, incorporating Kodiak autonomous trucks to ship Bridgestone (OTCPK:BRDCY) (OTCPK:BRDCF) passenger car tires between South Carolina and Dallas.

Since launching in January, the J.B. Hunt-Kodiak autonomous route has been driven with no accidents and achieved 100% on-time pick-up and delivery. The companies have now expanded the collaboration to include additional weekly deliveries along the route.

The round-trip solution for delivering Bridgestone passenger car tires and minimizing empty miles for efficiency starts when J.B. Hunt (JBHT) moves the load from Bridgestone’s Aiken Passenger Tire plant in South Carolina to Kodiak’s autonomous truckport near Atlanta. 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 seamless and continuous operation of the autonomous truck. J.B. Hunt (JBHT) then transports the load approximately 50 miles from Lancaster to Bridgestone’s Roanoke distribution center. For the trip from Dallas to Atlanta, J.B. Hunt (JBHT) leverages its J.B. Hunt 360box program to identify additional customers with live and drop freight needs along that route. Kodiak completes the delivery autonomously to Atlanta, and then J.B. Hunt (JBHT) transports the load to its next destination.

Bridgestone (OTCPK:BRDCY) (OTCPK:BRDCF) announced an investment in and partnership with Kodiak in June 2021. BMW (OTCPK:BMWYY) i Ventures is also an early investor. Kodiak’s core product, the Kodiak Driver, is a modular autonomous system designed to adapt to various driving platforms. This advanced technology aims to create the world’s safest driver, addressing the high number of truck-related accidents on US highways. The company’s approach is said to emphasizes safety, efficiency, reliability, and adaptability in its autonomous solutions.