Technology
McLane Company and Aurora Innovation announced on May 6 the expansion of their autonomous trucking partnership in Texas. Since the pilot began in 2023, the Aurora Driver system has accumulated over 280,000 miles and delivered 1,400 shipments. The approximately 240-mile route from Dallas to Houston has been approved, with plans to expand to other Sun Belt distribution centers by the end of the year.
Aurora Innovation CFO David Maday said on Wednesday's analyst call that the company's operating cost of 85 cents per mile is attracting carrier interest. As routes expand and commercial deployment progresses, autonomous driving technology inquiries have increased significantly over the past six months. The company expects to deploy over 200 autonomous trucks by year-end and achieve $80 million in revenue by the end of 2026.
Compressed natural gas (CNG) is becoming a viable alternative to diesel. The Atlantic County Utilities Authority (ACUA) in New Jersey has used CNG since 2010, averaging cost savings of $1.92 per diesel gallon equivalent over the past year. The North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) evaluated 13 fleets in its September 2025 Run on Less – Messy Middle demonstration, finding that CNG performs on par with diesel in heavy-duty applications, with the Cummins X15N engine expanding long-haul use cases. Real-world data shows that Wegmans, Kleysen, and UPS CNG fleets achieved fuel efficiencies of 5.0 to 7.2 miles per DGE under specific operating conditions.
Jason Bain, Senior Director of Enterprise Security at Saia, stated that the company has connected more than 10,000 cameras, access control systems, and intercoms and other physical security assets to the SecuriThings device management platform, gaining a unified view for real-time monitoring of device health and compliance status. This move aims to address the lack of visibility caused by fragmented systems and strengthen defenses against cargo theft and cyber threats.
Private equity firm STG announced on April 13 the acquisition of Carrier Logistics Inc., with the transaction amount undisclosed. The latter provides management software for LTL and small parcel carriers, and STG will drive the development of its AI agent platform, covering scenarios such as real-time scheduling, exception handling, and dock forecasting.