Autonomy moves onto Texas freight lane

A self-driving truck is now hauling Ryder freight every day on Interstate 35 between Laredo and Temple, Texas. (news.international.com) International Motors, Ryder System and PlusAI launched the pilot on March 31, using a factory-integrated International LT Series tractor with lidar, radar and cameras and PlusAI’s SuperDrive software. Ryder is running the 600-mile route between its own facilities in Laredo and Temple. (news.international.com) PlusAI said the truck is operating with a human safety driver and has posted 100% on-time delivery, 92% autonomous route coverage, pre-trip inspections under 30 minutes and better fuel efficiency in early results. Trucking Dive reported the software version in use is SuperDrive 6.0, with added night-driving and construction-zone capability. (plus.ai) (truckingdive.com) Autonomous trucking means the driving system handles most highway miles while people and fleets still manage freight, maintenance and dispatch. This Texas run is testing that model on a live shipper lane instead of a proving ground or an empty demo route. (plus.ai) (news.international.com) The companies are also testing a specific business model: point-to-point service on existing terminals. International said the goal is to integrate the virtual driver into current fleet operations without building dedicated autonomous hubs first. (news.international.com) Texas is a logical place to try it. The state already allows automated vehicles on public roads, and the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles says commercial automated-vehicle operators will need a state authorization for Texas road use when enforcement begins on May 28, 2026. (texas.public.law) (txdmv.gov) The Texas lane also builds on earlier work by International and PlusAI. Trucking Dive reported the two companies started fleet trials on routes between Laredo and Dallas in September, before adding Ryder as the first fleet customer in this March program. (truckingdive.com) The map is widening beyond Texas. Kodiak AI said on April 7 that it completed its first operational deployment outside the Sun Belt, running an autonomous trucking program in Ohio with DriveOhio and bringing officials from Ohio and Indiana onto Interstate 70 for demonstrations. (kodiak.ai) Kodiak said the Midwest program expanded its operating domain beyond Texas and the southern United States, and included demonstrations at the Transportation Research Center in East Liberty, Ohio, and at the Indiana Department of Transportation traffic management center in Indianapolis. The company showed highway merges, work zones, passing maneuvers, disabled-vehicle responses and pedestrian-crossing scenarios. (kodiak.ai) The next test is not whether trucks can finish a demo lap. It is whether companies can keep moving real freight, on schedule, under state rules and in more than one region of the country. (news.international.com) (kodiak.ai)