J.B. Hunt, one of the largest supply chain solutions providers in North America, Bridgestone, the famous tire brand, and Kodiak Robotics, an autonomous trucking company, are celebrating 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 between South Carolina and Dallas.
Since launching in January, the autonomous route has been driven with no accidents and achieved 100 percent on-time pick-up and delivery, and the companies have expanded the collaboration to include additional weekly deliveries along the route.
Utilizing Kodiak’s hub-to-hub autonomous delivery model, the long-haul stretch of the route from Atlanta to Dallas – approximately 750 miles and 16 hours – is completed using Kodiak autonomous driving technology, which is fitted with Bridgestone M719 drive tires and R213 steer tires.
J.B. Hunt transports the trailers to and from Bridgestone facilities and Kodiak hubs. The companies leverage J.B. Hunt 360box, a fluid network of 14,000-plus company trailers, to secure capacity for the return trip from Dallas, preventing empty miles and improving route efficiency.
Nick Hobbs, chief operating officer and president of contract services at J.B. Hunt, says: “Working closely with Kodiak and Bridgestone, we were able to deliver a complementary solution that integrates autonomous technology with day-to-day operations while also solving backhaul challenges.
“It’s a great example of how our mode-neutral approach can leverage multiple service offerings to produce efficient, value-driven solutions unique to our customers’ needs.”
Autonomy and efficiency: A round-trip solution
The collaboration provides a round-trip solution for delivering Bridgestone passenger car tires and minimizing empty miles for efficiency:
J.B. Hunt moves the load from Bridgestone’s Aiken Passenger Tire plant in Graniteville, SC to Kodiak’s Atlanta-area autonomous truckport in Villa Rica, Georgia.
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 transports the load approximately 50 miles from Lancaster to Bridgestone’s Roanoke distribution center.
For the trip from Dallas to Atlanta, J.B. Hunt 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 transports the load to its next destination.
Brad Blizzard, vice president, logistics operations and product delivery, Bridgestone, says: “As part of our evolution into a global leader in sustainable mobility solutions, Bridgestone joined forces with Kodiak and J.B. Hunt to prove that autonomous long-haul shipping is more than just a daydream; it’s happening right now.
“We are excited to be expanding our routes, growing this partnership, and investing in the mobility of the future.”
Don Burnette, founder and CEO, Kodiak, says: “Our ability to build an autonomous delivery program with J.B. Hunt, one of America’s best-respected and most innovative trucking fleets, and Bridgestone, a longstanding Kodiak investor and a leader in transportation technology, makes this a perfect collaboration.
“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 announced an investment in and partnership with Kodiak in June 2021.
As part of the partnership, Bridgestone has integrated its smart-sensing tire technologies into Kodiak’s autonomous trucks and have integrated smart tire technologies to further enhance vehicle intelligence for a safer, more efficient, and more sustainable mobility future.
Bridgestone is also Kodiak’s exclusive tire supplier.
Additionally, J.B. Hunt provides Bridgestone, a Dedicated Contract Services customer, with pickup and delivery services for multiple customer locations throughout the country.
