J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. has entered a long-term partnership with Waymo Via to advance the use of driverless vehicles for moving goods.
The Lowell-based transporter on Friday said the collaboration is the next step in bringing autonomous driving technology to its operations and customers and to offer driverless transport in Texas in the next few years.
Craig Harper, chief sustainability officer and executive vice president at J.B. Hunt, said in a written statement that the tests last year helped solidify how Waymo's technology can be used within J.B. Hunt's operations.
"This strategic alliance will continue that momentum," Harper said.
As the industry struggles with a growing shortage of drivers and demand for shorter delivery times, trucking and logistics companies are exploring technology innovations, such as electric and autonomous vehicles, for potential solutions.
Under the renewed partnership, J.B. Hunt said it will conduct multiple pilots and examine the operational capacity of Waymo Via, the company's Class 8 autonomous truck, to address customer needs in realistic scenarios.
The companies completed their first trial runs last year moving freight along Interstate 45 in Texas for one of J.B. Hunt's customers. The upcoming tests are expected to take place on the same route.
The two also agreed to work on ways to merge the autonomous driving technology with J.B. Hunt 360, the company's technology platform. Additionally, they plan to work on operational and market studies to refine the commercial readiness of the driving technology.
Charlie Jatt, head of commercialization for trucking at Waymo, said in prepared remarks that the collaboration with J.B. Hunt has been incredibly fruitful.
"This strategic alliance ... paves the way for us both to help growth the foundations for successful deployment and to capitalize on the benefits of autonomous driving technology," Jatt said.
The technology has the potential to improve efficiencies across the company, including significant cost savings. According to McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm, it can reduce costs by about 45%, saving the industry between $85 billion and $125 billion.
But none of that matters if the technology isn't safe. Waymo, formerly Google's self-driving car project, has made safety a top priority, saying most of its incidents involving autonomous test vehicles have been extremely minor or at low speeds.
Media outlets reported last month that a Waymo autonomous vehicle that hit a pedestrian in San Francisco was being operated by a human driver at the time of the incident.
In a safety report, Waymo published 6.1 million miles of driving data in Arizona, where it tests driverless taxis. The data, which spans from 2019 to 2020, show there were 18 crashes and 29 near-miss collisions.
J.B. Hunt's test runs last year were supervised by Waymo specialists with a commercial driver and software technician on board to monitor every aspect of the trips.
Shares of J.B. Hunt fell 1%, or $2.12, to close Friday at $202.07 on the Nasdaq stock exchange.