Waymo Via, a company that develops autonomous-driving technology, will be partnering with logistics and transportation giant C.H. Robinson to implement autonomous trucking from Dallas to Houston. The trucks will potentially be hauling freight on Interstate 45. Waymo is a subsidiary of Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc., and is based in California.
The companies announced the deal Wednesday and have stated that the self-driving truck will carry a safety driver in the front seat. According to Julianne McGoldrick, a spokesperson for Waymo Via, pilot runs will start in the next few months on what is becoming a common Dallas-to-Houston testing ground. In June, Waymo had already began testing self-driving freight runs between Fort Worth and Houston.
“We look forward to this collaboration with C.H. Robinson, both for their deep roots and experience in logistics and transportation, but also as a company that shares our vision of how technology and autonomous trucking can change our industry for the better,” said Charlie Jatt, Head of Communication for Trucking at Waymo Via.
“C.H. Robinson’s size, scale, and platform gives us access to rich and unique transportation data along with customer relationships and pilot opportunities to help bring our Waymo Via solution to the market,” he added.
C.H. Robinson currently has a network of around 200,000 shippers and carriers, as well as data on over 3 million lanes. This gives Waymo enough data to help it continue to apply its autonomous technology in the most effective and valuable ways based on the logistics industry’s specific needs.
Waymo Via will also gain access to C.H. Robinson’s medium and small carrier base as well as a platform for equipping shippers with AV (autonomous vehicles) capacity. According to Waymo Via, this collaboration lays a foundation that will enable the company to explore how it can make its technology more available to partners.
“Together, we are going to harness the emerging freight technology and its potential on behalf of customers and carriers,” said Chris O’Brien, the chief commercial officer at C.H. Robinson. “We believe there is a real opportunity to bring our scale and information advantage to bear to help transportation solutions for them and their ability to participate in and benefit from AV.”
Waymo Via is putting its foot forward at a time when the need to address long-term driver shortages is urgent. In 2021, the American Trucking Associated had estimated a historical shortage of drivers at a lack of about 80,000. The association believes that these numbers could surpass 160,000 by 2030.
