Volvo Autonomous Solutions (VAS) and DHL Supply Chain have launched autonomous operations in the United States. The operations will be enabled by the purpose-built, production-ready Volvo VNL Autonomous which is powered by the Aurora Driver. The start of operations marks a critical phase in validating the full ecosystem required for... Read more →

Mitsubishi HC Capital will invest approximately ¥200 billion (US$1.35 billion) this year in shipping containers through group company CAI International—the largest such purchase in 2024—Nikkei reported. Tensions in the Middle East have caused container ships to avoid passage through the Red Sea and Suez Canal, extending the length of voyages... Read more →

As trucks become more fuel-efficient, trailers are emerging as a key technology area where further carbon emission reductions can be made. ZF’s electric trailer concept, on show at the IAA Transportation 2024 under the new brand name TrailTrax, integrates its in-house developed 210kW AxTrax 2 e-Axle, trailer EBS, and battery... Read more →

Smart Freight Centre, a global non-profit organization focused on climate action in the freight sector, launched a shipper-carrier coalition to accelerate heavy-duty electric vehicle (EV) deployment. The coalition consists of some of the world’s largest shippers and carriers, including AIT Worldwide Logistics, DB Schenker, Maersk, Microsoft, and PepsiCo, which will... Read more →

Daimler Truck North America LLC (DTNA), the leading manufacturer of medium-and heavy-duty trucks in the United States, continues to decarbonize its logistics network by integrating a battery-electric Freightliner eCascadia into its aftermarket operations with long-time associate J.B. Hunt Transport Inc., a leading transportation and logistics company. With this, DTNA builds... Read more →

Volvo Group Venture Capital AB is investing in the US-based company aifleet, a trucking company leveraging AI technology focusing on truck utilization and driver satisfaction. Founded in 2020, aifleet operates in the US full-truckload (FTL) segment of the trucking industry, where a truck’s full capacity is bought to ship larger... Read more →

California’s South Coast Air Quality Management District (South Coast AQMD) Governing Board recently adopted Rule 2306, otherwise known as the Freight Rail Yards Indirect Source Rule (ISR), which requires rail yard operators to take actions to meet specific emission reductions targets. The rule is expected to reduce NOx emissions associated... Read more →

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, one of the largest supply chain solutions providers in North America, Bridgestone Americas, and Kodiak Robotics, a leading autonomous trucking company, marked a successful ongoing weekly delivery collaboration that has surpassed 50,000 autonomous long-haul trucking miles, incorporating Kodiak autonomous trucks to ship Bridgestone passenger car tires... Read more →

Uber Freight and Aurora Innovation are launching Premier Autonomy, a new program providing early access to more than 1 billion of Aurora’s driverless miles to Uber Freight carriers through 2030. The program is the latest in their longstanding partnership to integrate and deploy autonomous trucks on the Uber Freight network... Read more →

DHL opened Continental Europe’s first EV Center of Excellence for advancing electric mobility in Pozzuolo Martesana, near Milan, Italy. In collaboration with the Team EV of DHL Customer Solutions & Innovation, the center leverages the combined warehousing and freight management of DHL Global Forwarding, including both ocean and air freight... Read more →

The US has released the National Zero-Emission Freight Corridor Strategy. Developed by the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation and US Department of Energy (DOE), in collaboration with the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Strategy will guide the deployment of zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty... Read more →

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launchED of the $3-billion Clean Ports Program to fund zero-emission port equipment and infrastructure. The Clean Ports Program is designed to help ports across the country transition to fully zero-emissions operations—serving as a catalyst for transformational change across the freight sector. To achieve this,... Read more →

BMW Group Logistik, in collaboration with the technology innovator Trailer Dynamics, has successfully tested an electrically powered semi-trailer on various tracks and over varying distances in real-world logistics operations. With the diesel truck used, average fuel savings of more than 46% over short and medium distances, and more than 48%... Read more →

In 2022, motorized vehicles were the top commodity shipped by rail in terms of value at $125.6 billion—nearly three times higher than the nearest category—according to data gathered by the Department of Transportation and presented by the US Department of Energy (DOE). Value of Commodities Moved By Rail, 2022 Data... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced $9 million in funding to six projects developing technology to model the low-carbon intermodal freight transportation system of the future. The following six teams are set to receive funding through the Advanced Research Project Agency’s (ARPA-E) INcreasing Transportation Efficiency and Resiliency through MODeling... Read more →

Trucks moved nearly 12 billion tons of freight domestically in 2021, with most of the shipments traveling less than 250 miles, according to analysis of US Department of Transportation (DOT) data by the US Department of Energy (DOE). Shipments below 100 miles accounted for 44% of the total tonnage, and... Read more →

The Teamsters Union was served legal notice on Monday that Yellow Corp.—one of the US’ largest less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers—is ceasing operations and filing for bankruptcy. Today’s news is unfortunate but not surprising. Yellow has historically proven that it could not manage itself despite billions of dollars in worker concessions and... Read more →

Trucking moved two-thirds of US domestic freight in terms of tonnage and three-fourths of freight in terms of value in 2021, according to analysis by the US Department of Energy (DOE). “Air” includes shipments moved by air or a combination of truck and air in commercial or private aircraft. “Other... Read more →

Volvo Trucks will deliver fully electric heavy-duty trucks to Amazon in Germany by year end. The 20 Volvo FH Electric are expected to drive more than one million road kilometers annually. For Amazon, the trucks will play a key role in electrification of longer distances and heavier loads. Heavy goods... Read more →

Hyundai Motor Company won its first Luminary honor at Red Dot Award: Design Concept 2022 with its Trailer Drone fully autonomous hydrogen mobility concept. (Earlier post.) The Luminary honor is the highest level of recognition accorded at the Red Dot Award: Design Concept, selected from among Red Dot’s ‘Best of... Read more →

BNSF Railway plans to invest more than $1.5 billion to construct a master-planned rail facility in Southern California—the first being developed by a Class 1 railroad. The Barstow International Gateway will be an approximately 4,500-acre new integrated rail facility on the west side of Barstow, consisting of a rail yard,... Read more →

The Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team recently concluded a trial in the use of biofuels in 16 Mercedes Actros Gigaspace race trucks for the final three races of the European season. As part of the drive to further reduce CO2 emissions and achieve verified Net Zero by 2030, the trial was... Read more →

The Electrification Coalition (EC) launched the Electric Freight Consortium (EFC), a forum for collaboration between the EC, private-sector partners and industry leaders representing a broad cross-section of the freight transportation sector that will accelerate freight electrification at scale. The EFC will complement its freight policy and pilot work by creating... Read more →

Werner Enterprises, a premier transportation and logistics provider, has signed a letter of intent to purchase 500 Cummins’ 15-liter hydrogen internal combustion engines upon availability. (Earlier post.) The two companies announced earlier this year that Werner Enterprises plans to validate and integrate Cummins’ 15-liter natural gas and Cummins’ X15H hydrogen... Read more →

Hyliion, a developer of electrified powertrain solutions for Class 8 commercial vehicles (earlier post), has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a new fuel-agnostic generator (KARNO) from GE Additive for its range-extended series-hybrid powertrain. The Hyliion KARNO solution offers a next-generation powertrain option between the CNG/RNG-fueled generator used in... Read more →

FedEx Office, in collaboration with Ford Pro, is piloting 10 Ford E-Transit vans across its FedEx SameDay City network as part of the goal to transition its entire pickup and delivery fleet to zero tailpipe emission vehicles by 2040. FedEx SameDay City is the company’s local shipping option, which offers... Read more →

Amazon has begun deploying its custom electric delivery vehicles from Rivian for package delivery, with the electric vehicles hitting the road in Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City, Nashville, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle, and St. Louis, among other cities. This rollout is just the beginning of what is expected to be... Read more →

Isuzu Motors Limited, DENSO Corporation, Toyota Motor Corporation, Hino Motors, Ltd., and Commercial Japan Partnership Technologies Corporation (CJPT) have started planning and foundational research on hydrogen engines for heavy-duty commercial vehicles with the aim of further utilizing internal combustion engines as one option to achieve carbon neutrality. On the road... Read more →

India-based global tire-maker Apollo Tyres, which markets its products under the global brands Apollo and Vredestein, will launch its first dedicated micro-mobility tire, the Vredestein Cargo. Developed specifically for electrically assisted cargo bikes used for urban deliveries, the new tire will make its debut at Eurobike 2022 in Frankfurt, Germany... Read more →

Einride, a freight technology company providing digital, electric and autonomous shipping, has received approval from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to operate its Autonomous Electric Transport (AET) vehicles on US public roads. With this approval, Einride will conduct a public road pilot to support operational flows for customer... Read more →

Scania is introducing complete BEV-based solutions for regional long-haul. The new generation, available with R or S sleeper cabs, is part of a complete solution. With 624 kWh of batteries installed, Scania provides the means for a major shift regarding electric trucks and their operability in regional long-haul operations. Scania-45-R-BEV... Read more →

Uber Freight and Waymo Via announced a long-term strategic partnership to connect their technologies and deploy autonomous trucks at scale on the Uber Freight network. This partnership brings together the power of Waymo’s autonomous driving technology with the scale of Uber Freight’s network and leading marketplace technology, unlocking a roadmap... Read more →

UK-based Clean Air Power has demonstrated a Freightliner Class 66 locomotive running on hydrogen to reduce its carbon emission output. Clean Air Power achieved this by fitting the Class 66 with its precision injection technology, allowing the two-stroke diesel locomotive to run on a combination of diesel, biogas and hydrogen.... Read more →

NFI Industries—a leading third-party supply chain solutions provider—is increasing its investment in electromobility solutions with its latest order of 60 Volvo VNR Electric trucks. The battery-electric freight trucks will be deployed in NFI’s Ontario, California fleet throughout 2022 and 2023, in support of its goal of operating the first 100%... Read more →

Cummins and Daimler Truck North America (DTNA), the largest heavy-duty truck manufacturer in North America, are collaborating to upfit and validate Freightliner Class 8 Cascadia trucks with a Cummins hydrogen fuel cell powertrain for use in North America. Freightliner will leverage Cummins’ fourth-generation fuel cell powertrain, which provides improved power... Read more →

Aurora Innovation Covenant Logistics Group are collaborating to explore ways t#o optimize Covenant’s long-haul operations with Aurora’s autonomous trucking product. The two companies will explore the integration and deployment of Aurora Horizon within Covenant’s operations. Part of Covenant’s diversified services is long-haul trucking, making the benefits of autonomous technology in... Read more →

Fontaine Modification is expanding its electrification integration services to include refrigerated trailers through a strategic alliance with electric transport refrigeration unit (eTRU) innovator eNow, Inc. Fontaine will offer application engineering, integration, and installation of eNow’s proprietary renewable Rayfrigeration eTRU technology on refrigerated trailers from all manufacturers. The system can be... Read more →

Volvo Autonomous Solutions (VAS), a Volvo Group company, will offer a new hub-to-hub autonomous transport solution, designed to serve four main customer segments: shippers; carriers; logistics service providers; and freight brokers. Each solution will be configured to suit the business needs of the specific segments while addressing the growing demand... Read more →

Aurora Innovation and Werner Enterprises, a premier transportation and logistics provider, announced a collaboration and commercial pilot to test and deploy safely autonomous trucks on one of the most commercially active and critical stretches of highway in the US. Starting this week, Aurora Driver-powered trucks are hauling loads between Fort... Read more →

Volvo Trucks in North America has won an order for 110 Volvo VNR Electric trucks from the global logistics company Maersk. The deal adds to a previous order of 16 vehicles of the same model and marks the single largest commercial order to date for Volvo’s electric trucks. The order,... Read more →

A.P. Moller – Maersk is temporarily suspending new Maersk bookings within ocean, air and intercontinental rail to and from Russia, with the exception of foodstuffs, medical and humanitarian supplies (bar dual-use items). The suspension began 1 March and covers all Russian gateway ports. Maersk will announce further details as it... Read more →

Toyota Motor Europe (TME) has started transporting new cars by cross-channel rail services between its Valenciennes Vehicle Logistics hub in France and Toton (UK). This launch signals the first phase of its Pan-European plan to move a larger share of vehicles by rail freight in line with its ambition to... Read more →

DHL Global Forwarding, the air and ocean freight specialist of Deutsche Post DHL Group, has signed an agreement with Air France KLM Martinair Cargo (AFKLMP) for the purchase of 33 million liters of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The three-year cooperation represents one of the most significant SAF purchases in the... Read more →

In a recent analysis, Fraunhofer ISI concludes that battery-electric drives will become established in heavy-duty applications in the commercial vehicle sector and that fuel cells will remain a niche application. The decisive factor for the switch to battery-electric vehicles is the energy cost advantage compared to hydrogen and diesel. A... Read more →

Elroy Air, a company developing the first end-to-end autonomous vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aerial cargo system, unveiled its pre-production Chaparral aircraft. The Chaparral can autonomously pick up 300-500 lbs of cargo and deliver it by air up to 300 miles, a capability that pushes beyond the limited payload capabilities... Read more →

Parallel Systems, a company founded by former SpaceX engineers to reimagine the railroad system, has raised $49.55 million in Series A funds to build autonomous battery-electric rail vehicles that move freight. The round is led by Anthos Capital, and includes investments from Congruent Ventures, Riot Ventures, Embark Ventures, and others.... Read more →

The California Energy Commission (CEC) awarded $13 million to the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and CALSTART to jump start California’s high-power charging infrastructure for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. The two organizations will lead a first-of-its-kind collaboration to launch the country’s first zero-emission, freight-charging corridor network. The multi-phase project, Research... Read more →

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc., one of the largest supply chain solutions providers in North America, announced a long-term, strategic alliance with Waymo Via that will advance efforts to integrate commercial autonomous driving technology in transportation and logistics, with ultimate plans to complete fully autonomous transport in Texas in the... Read more →

Nikola Corporation announced a collaboration with Saia LTL Freight, a less-than-truckload (LTL) company, to accelerate the implementation of heavy-duty electric transportation trucks. This collaboration includes a Letter of Intent (LOI) to purchase or lease 100 Nikola Tre heavy-duty battery electric vehicles (BEVs) following the satisfactory completion of a demonstration program.... Read more →

Starting immediately, Deutsche Post is offsetting any unavoidable CO2 emissions due to mail transport with investments in internationally recognized and certified climate protection projects at no extra charge. For the last ten years, DHL has transported all parcels for private customers with its climate-friendly “GoGreen” service. Up until now, the... Read more →