Self-driving truck technology company TuSimple continues on pace to introduce driverless Class 8 Navistar tractors on U.S. highways within a few years. The company has nearly 7,000 reservations for its new line of purpose-built SAE Level 4 (L4) trucks, scheduled to hit the road in 2024.
Along with making U.S. highways safer, these self-driving tractors will also help combat driver and technician labor shortages this decade, according to Jim Mullen, TuSimple’s chief administrative officer, who spoke at length with FleetOwner about this next step in transportation technology.
Fleet customers, which include Penske Truck Leasing, Schneider and U.S. Xpress, have put down $500 deposits for the Navistar-built International LT Series autonomous trucks that are expected to be running in the South come 2024. Most of the reservations came in the first few months of 2021, before TuSimple’s initial public offering on the Nasdaq this April.
“We worked with Navistar on identifying what we call ‘first wave fleets’,” said Mullen, who noted that comprised 10 fleets in all.
While not all of the fleets involved in the first round of reservations are going public with their autonomous plans, TuSimple engineers have begun the process of creating these future autonomous lanes. “Many of these fleets have already given us their network designs, so we’re already hauling freight for them,” Mullen said. “If we’re not hauling freight for them, we’re looking at opportunities where they think they could adopt our [Level 4 autonomous] trucks in the future.”
U.S. Xpress has worked with TuSimple since 2019 for one simple reason: “We see them as the clear leader in autonomous trucking technology, which is why U.S. Xpress is among the first in line for reservations," said Eric Fuller, President and CEO of U.S. Xpress. "Autonomous technology is complementary to other investments we've made to broaden our portfolio of services across the supply chain."
Current runs on public roads by TuSimple-enabled trucks still have a human on board. But the San Diego-based trucking technology company and its OEM partner Navistar plan to take humans out of the cab by 2024 and run truly driverless trucks on major lanes in the South. “The reservations are great, but what we really think is critical about this is it’s a firm commitment from these shippers, these fleets that they’re progressive on our technology and progressive on L4 trucks in general and how they’re going to change and complete their network.”
The 6,775 L4 truck reservations “reflect the appetite surrounding self-driving technology in long-haul applications,” according to Bob Walsh, vice president of emerging technologies, strategy and planning for Navistar. "We are happy to partner with TuSimple to offer this integrated autonomous solution to our customers."
And now TuSimple and Navistar will work on securing orders from another group of fleets that both companies have already started engaging with, Mullen said.
“I’ve had some very positive meetings with them,” Mullen said. “When they come down to Tucson and get on our truck for a test drive and realize how close this technology really is. So, there seems to be a very robust appetite to want to engage with us on the reservation program and looking at how we can collaborate for when that 2024 Navistar truck comes off the assembly line.
Part of that collaboration is working with potential customers on how and where an autonomous truck network would provide the most value for these fleets, Mullen said. He added that TuSimple wants to work with carriers “that are known to have density in the lanes that we’re targeting and where it makes the most sense with the type of freight and volume that they’re hauling right now.”
Mullen said these carriers are seeking out consistent and reliable capacity as the driver shortage continues. They also are enticed by the potential for fuel savings — TuSimple said its trucks get 10% more mile per gallon than human-driven trucks — and the increased roadway safety that comes with self-driving trucks, he said. “And it’s very attractive that we can provide about a 10% mpg improvement,” Mullen said.
“Our wheelhouse is that long haul, middle mile. Most of the groups that we're dealing with already have that in their network or are looking to perhaps put that in their network,” Mullen said. Getting there involves TuSimple creating their own proprietary high-definition mapping of the autonomous routes for their customers.
The TuSimple-powered Navistar tractors would run in the South. Right now, Mullen said, the companies are primarily targeting Texas, Arizona and New Mexico, where TuSimple has 50 self-driving trucks running freight with humans on board as a backup. By the end of 2021, they plan to be running more test pilots in the Southeast U.S., including Florida, Georgia and North Carolina.
Currently, TuSimple’s Autonomous Freight Network operates 50 autonomous trucks in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.
Some of the longer autonomous runs in TuSimple’s near future include Phoenix to Florida and Dallas to Florida. “We would love to coast-to-coast — California to Florida,” Mullen said. “But as you know, California has some regulatory barriers that we haven’t overcome yet. But that’s a work in progress.”
Most of the segments for these tractors are dry van trailers. But Mullen said there would be reefer hauls as well. “We’re trying to figure out with our algorithm team and with Navistar if there’s a comfort level for flatbed or not,” Mullen said. He added that these autonomous trucks won’t be hauling any hazmat in the near future — but he didn’t rule out self-driving tankers hauling non-hazardous commodities such as milk.
Technicians and drivers
While the truck driver shortage gets most of the manpower headlines in the transportation industry these days, trucking is also facing a technician shortage. Mullen thinks these high-tech vehicles could help ease that shortage in the long run.
He noted that all the trucks would have the same factory warranties that Navistar provides for its other vehicles. “We will certify the technicians that work on the AI and our system’s hardware and software,” Mullen said.
While the technician shortage does not appear as pronounced as the driver shortage, he adds: “These are crazy times. There doesn’t appear to be an area of employment that isn’t in need right now.”
But TuSimple and Navistar plan to work with community colleges and other technical schools to design and expand their offers for technician students. “My suspicion is that this is a little sexier than your traditional techs and we think that will help assist as well,” Mullen said. “We’re a few years off before you will need to have a full, robust network of these technicians. But we are confident that there will be ample technicians.”
Mullen said that when he talks to C-level executives at various fleets and driver recruiters, he consistently hears that the most challenging seat to fill in the driver space is the long haul driver. “It’s a hard, hard job. You’re away from home quite a bit. It’s a difficult life,” he said. “We actually believe that our wheelhouse fits very nicely with the capacity constraints currently in the market and will help alleviate that driver shortage considerably come 2024.
Trade groups representing drivers, such as the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, have challenged the quick pace of autonomous technology development and said these self-driving trucks could threaten the livelihoods of smaller fleets.
“The potential introduction of AVs on the nation’s highways invites more questions than answers,” Todd Spence, president of OOIDA, said in April. “As autonomous technology develops, such as with companies like TuSimple, we are concerned that federal regulators will push for more technology as the solution to the industry’s safety and workforce issues without considering the negative impacts of these technologies.”
Mullen said these are valid concerns. “We are trying to make sure that folks understand that this is going to be a gradual proliferation of autonomous trucks,” he said. “It’s going to be geographic in scope.”
Today’s drivers, he said, shouldn’t worry about a self-driving truck taking their job. “We firmly believe that if you are a truck driver today — I don’t care if you just got your CDL yesterday — you’ll absolutely have the opportunity to be a truck driver during your entire professional career if that’s what you wish to do,” Mullen said. “Now some of it may change. There will be more first- and final-mile drivers as a result of autonomy in some long-haul lanes.”
A recent federal study by the Department of Transportation’s Volpe Center found that autonomous long haul trucking could change drivers’ jobs but would not reduce the labor force. It could create more higher-paying jobs, particularly on the technician side, Mullen noted.
Mullen said it incumbent on TuSimple and other Level 4 autonomous trucking companies to make sure the message is about the potential for self-driving trucks to create more labor opportunities than deprive current drivers of their livelihoods.
“We don’t want to do anything that would exacerbate that driver supply chain, if you will,” he said. “By that, I mean we don’t want to do anything that would diminish new entrants into the truck driving space. So we need to be careful not to overstate when this is going to happen, where it’s going to happen and how prolific it is going to be.”
