The potential of driverless deliveries

On Oct. 25, a driverless truck transported 50,000 cans of Budweiser from Loveland, Colorado to Colorado Springs – roughly a 120-mile journey. For the first 100 miles, the truck operated without the manual control of a human driver, although one was sitting in the truck’s cab. For the last 20 miles, said driver did take control as the truck exited the highway.

The truck, an 18-wheeler Volvo developed by Uber-owned tech company Otto, traveled an average of 55 miles per hour on its first journey on a highway also being used by ordinary citizens. The drive was also historic, as it was the first time a driverless truck made a delivery in the United States.

In time, driverless deliveries may soon become a mainstay of the transportation industry. In an interview with The Verge, an online-only website that covers technology, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx said that he hopes America is largely driverless by 2021. Foxx’s hope is that automated trucks will run closer together and potentially reduce climate impact and save fuel.

“By 2021, we will see autonomous vehicles in operation across the country in ways that we [only] imagine today,” he told The Verge.

The trucks used in the Budweiser delivery were outfitted with a hardware kit that can be fitted to most trucks currently on the road. Each kit applies sensors to a truck that allow it to drive among other cars on the road and, by hitting a button on the cab’s dashboard, a truck can switch to between being under the driver’s control and self-driving. The added tech also includes programming software and other enhancements designed specifically to make Otto’s driverless tech both safe and useable. In order to make the technology work, Otto has tested it on both empty and public highways before using it in an actual delivery.

According to Otto’s website, its trucks are ‘tuned for the consistent patterns and easy to predict road conditions of highway driving.’ The group developing them includes employees from Google, Tesla and Apple; at the moment, some of the world’s brightest and most innovative minds are working to advance this technology.

How it could impact growers

For the produce industry, automated trucking could mean faster deliveries and, in theory, fresher products in stores. For example, a tomato that needs to be shipped hours away after being picked could get to some retailer’s hours faster if transported with a driverless, automated truck. Current regulations limit truck drivers to 11 hours on the road during a 14-hour period in addition to mandated 10-hour breaks. In theory, automated trucks could lessen these types of restrictions.

That, however, could take some time to become a reality. Most growers do not control their own shipping internally, leaving much of the industry reliant on third-party trucking companies to shift into automated trucking. Right now, only larger corporations are investing their money into this technology. For it to take off, smaller, independent trucking companies must have the desire and financial wherewithal to employ driverless tech.

There is also some skepticism as to how much the technology could improve the quality of produce available to consumers. James Thompson, an emeritus extension engineer at the University of California-Davis Postharvest Extension, says that it will take time to fully understand what the impact on the industry will be. Factors such as how products are stored and products not being prepared for transport properly will not be directly addressed by driverless trucks.

“Transportation [for produce] is typically two to four days in North America. That’s a significant part of postharvest life,” Thompson says. “If the product is kept at proper temperatures, it’s not a detrimental part. But that’s a big if.”

Down the line, Thompson says trucks being able to eliminate a driver cab could increase loads and highly perishable items like berries and freshly cut vegetables could have better market value if they spent less times in transport, although he says other issues may ultimately be more important.

“From the produce perspective, I’m not sure you’ll see major changes,” he says. “And issues like [preparation and proper storage] are probably more important than the transportation on its own.”

A workforce in need of change

In time, automated trucks will deliver more than beer. They could be moving fresh produce around the country faster than it’s ever been done before. But that may be dependent on changes being made within the trucking industry. 

The number of American truck drivers has steadily dropped and their average age increases every year. According to Dan Vache, United Fresh’s VP of supply chain management, there is some hope that changing the very nature of what a truck driver’s job would entice younger people into the profession. Switching to driverless trucks could mean changing the very demographic of the workforce. In the short term, even with automated trucks become a reality, drivers are still essential and will be in the future.

“The lifestyle of a trucker is sometimes not the most sought after,” Vache says. “There’s stress and strain. The new technology could make it more rewarding to sit behind the wheel of a truck because I think there still is some adventure in driving across the country.”

And although the investment costs for the technology is high, the payoff could be huge. A full-load transported from New York to Los Angeles would cost around $4,500 with labor accounting for 75 percent of the cost under the current system. It may not be by 2021 at the earliest – and Vache says it may take 10 years for the tech to be adapted – but there is a future where the industry can increase profits margins simply by paying less for shipping.

There are, however, many legal and regulatory questions that still need to be answered. Major uncertainties remain about how the federal government – particularly one being led by a new president who already has selected a new transportation secretary - will regulate driverless trucks, who will be responsible for any accidents and how states will issue licenses still must be answered before any realistic scenario featuring widespread adoption of automated trucks can happen.

“There are just so many questions that have to be answered as the technology moves forward -- because it will move forward,” Vache says.