Inbound Logistics | July 2026

CLEAN FREIGHT COMES OF AGE the technology’s historical limitations. “New congurations are delivering up to 700 miles of range for day cabs and as much as 1,200 miles for sleeper trucks,

The open question is where and how it scales rst—and for now, the answer is controlled, repeatable environments. Middle-mile routes, particularly in Texas, are emerging as the leading edge of deployment, thanks to favorable regulation and strong state support. Aurora, a Dallas- based autonomous trucking rm, became the rst company in the country to operate a commercial trucking route on a public highway with a completely unmanned vehicle earlier this year. The technology itself keeps advancing. Modern systems combine cameras, radar, and lidar to build a 360-degree view of the environment, enabling earlier hazard detection. Volvo’s on-road solutions can identify potential risks more than 10 seconds in advance and make decisions, such as holding at an intersection, to avoid collisions, according to Sasko Cuklev, the company’s head of on-road solutions. Volvo’s VNL Autonomous truck reects the shift from pilot programs to industrial-scale deployment, with plans to manufacture hundreds of autonomous trucks at its Virginia plant beginning in 2027. Cuklev notes the truck’s utilization rate of roughly 90%, compared with about 30% for manually driven trucks. Other players are pushing the technology forward as well: PlusAI’s AI-based virtual driver software, Kodiak’s SensorPod hardware (developed with Bosch), and TORC Robotics’ autonomous Freightliner Cascadia are all moving from demonstration to deployment. The path to scale remains gradual. Most deployments still include safety drivers, and signicant challenges remain around infrastructure, data integration, and customer trust. FROM TRANSITION TO TRANSFORMATION The freight industry has moved beyond early-stage experimentation and is embracing clean, advanced technologies at a new level, with a renewed understanding of the economic case behind them.

while lightweight carbon-ber tanks help offset weight concerns,” says Ian MacDonald, senior vice president of sales for the Americas at Hexagon Agility, a supplier of natural gas fuel storage and delivery systems. RNG is also drawing attention for its sustainability prole. By capturing methane from waste streams, it offers what MacDonald calls “carbon-negative energy for operators.” Just as important, natural gas provides a hedge against both fuel price volatility and policy uncertainty. Many eets are layering in renewable diesel and hybrid approaches as well, building a three-part strategy that balances cost, emissions, and operational exibility. AUTONOMY EDGES TOWARD COMMERCIAL REALITY Autonomous trucking may be the most closely watched development in freight today. Lior Ron, chief operating ofcer at Waabi, has called it “the most profound change in the history of the trucking industry.”

But the transition is far from simple. Infrastructure gaps, capital costs, regulatory uncertainty, and workforce challenges all remain, and success will depend on how well the pieces are integrated. Hexagon Agility, a supplier of natural gas fuel storage and delivery systems, is helping fleets deploy compressed natural gas (CNG) and renewable natural gas (RNG) solutions.

AI MOVES FROM CONCEPT TO CORE CAPABILITY

According to data collected by TRC Companies, roughly half of eets are already using AI in some form— primarily for route optimization and maintenance—and more than 60% expect to adopt it in the near future. Erik Neandross, president of TRC’s Clean Transportation Solutions group, points to early results: 12% reductions in maintenance costs, 20% fewer roadside breakdowns, and 9–10% improvements in technician productivity. In practice, AI is being applied to a wide range of use cases in clean freight tech: optimizing backhaul routes, automating service requests, supporting battery-charging infrastructure decisions, and identifying revenue opportunities. Industry experts emphasize the need for AI uency, robust data, and well-dened use cases to turn the technology into a real competitive advantage. But AI adoption isn’t without friction. Data quality, system integration, and change management remain major hurdles. Fleets need to understand why they want to use AI and what problem they’re solving before jumping. “If you get that wrong, AI is going to accelerate wrong real fast,”says Jack Kennedy, CEO of Platform Science.

Waabi's driverless AI meets Volvo's purpose- built VNL Autonomous truck: the companies are working to shift from pilot programs to industrial-scale deployment.

172 Inbound Logistics • July 2026