Safe and on-time: Teaming up with FedEx and PACCAR to deliver goods at scale

This industry-first collaboration combines expertise in trucking, logistics, and autonomy to improve the safety and efficiency of the movement of goods.

When we partnered with PACCAR six months ago, we promised to not only build reliable autonomous trucks but to deploy them in a meaningful way. Today, we’re pleased to announce that we’ve formed an industry-first collaboration to launch a commercial pilot with PACCAR and FedEx, one of the largest transportation and logistics companies in the world. Together, we’ll leverage our collective expertise in trucking, autonomy, and logistics to improve the safety and efficiency of commercial linehaul transportation operations.

This industry-first collaboration is born out of mutual trust and respect with industry leaders that share our vision to transform transportation and realize the benefits of self-driving technology. With PACCAR’s Autonomous Vehicle Platform (AVP), we’re creating a deeply integrated self-driving truck with a manufacturer that delivers hundreds of thousands of Class 8 trucks a year. And now, through this pilot, we’re extending that partnership to a key customer, FedEx, to integrate those trucks into its massive network, which delivers billions of packages each year. 

Transforming the business of moving goods

This week, we begin our commercial pilot with FedEx. We’ll be regularly and autonomously hauling FedEx loads with a safety driver between Dallas and Houston, a 500-mile round trip along the I-45 corridor. Our pilot with FedEx and PACCAR demonstrates how we’re progressing and advancing through the Aurora Driver Development Program as we’re now in the exciting phase of “Refine and Pilot.”

At the end of 2023, we will launch our trucking business and haul loads autonomously between terminals without a safety driver. Developing our trucking service and Driver-as-a-Service business model alongside a trusted network that understands how to safely optimize logistics through efficiency and speed primes us to build a more deeply integrated service with the Aurora Driver for fleets safely and quickly.

Industry-first collaboration

“FedEx was built on innovation, and we always anticipate what’s next to be future-ready,” said Rebecca Yeung, VP, Advanced Technology and Innovation, FedEx Corporation. “This is an exciting, industry-first collaboration that will work toward enhancing the logistics industry through safer, more efficient transportation of goods and we are pleased to collaborate with other industry leaders—Aurora and PACCAR—on this endeavor.”

“The speed and quality of progress we’re making with Aurora to develop self-driving trucks is impressive. This industry collaboration is an important step toward delivering these trucks at scale,” said John Rich, CTO of PACCAR.

“The foundation for commercializing self-driving trucks at scale lies in partnership with industry leaders,” said Sterling Anderson, CPO and co-founder at Aurora. “PACCAR and FedEx are two of those leaders and we’re proud to be working with them to deliver on this important mission.” 

Commercial pilot to scaled deployment

As the growth of e-commerce continues to accelerate, supply chains and logistics have never been more dynamic. Through powerful collaborations like this, we’re not just setting the pace of technical development, we’re also setting the pace of commercial progress through a shared understanding and collaboration to deliver the benefits of self-driving technology. We look forward to sharing more soon.