Bridgestone's AI shipping collab surpasses 50K miles

NASHVILLE—Bridgestone Americas, in collaboration with J.B. Hunt Transport Services and Kodiak Robotics, surpassed 50,000 autonomous long-haul trucking miles delivering tires from the company's South Carolina plant to its Texas distribution center.

Launched in January, the weekly deliveries have had no accidents along the autonomous route and achieved 100% on-time pick-up and delivery, Bridgestone said.

"As part of our evolution into a global leader in sustainable mobility solutions, Bridgestone joined forces with Kodiak and J.B. Hunt to prove that autonomous long-haul shipping is more than just a daydream; it's happening right now," said Brad Blizzard, vice president, logistics operations and product delivery, Bridgestone. "We are excited to be expanding our routes, growing this partnership and investing in the mobility of the future."

The collaboration uses Kodiak trucks—fitted with Bridgestone M719 drive tires and R213 steer tires—and its hub-to-hub autonomous delivery model, a 750-mile stretch between Atlanta and Dallas. J.B. Hunt handles the last-mile delivery.

J.B. Hunt moves the load from Bridgestone's Aiken Passenger Tire plant in Graniteville, S.C., to Kodiak's Atlanta-area autonomous truckport in Villa Rica, Ga.

Kodiak autonomous trucks—and its two-person team—complete the long-haul stretch of the route from Atlanta to Kodiak's Lancaster, Texas, facility. From there, J.B. Hunt transports the load approximately 50 miles from Lancaster to Bridgestone's Roanoke distribution center.

"Working closely with Kodiak and Bridgestone, we were able to deliver a complementary solution that integrates autonomous technology with day-to-day operations while also solving backhaul challenges," Nick Hobbs, chief operating officer at J.B. Hunt, said. "It's a great example of how our mode-neutral approach can leverage multiple service offerings to produce efficient, value-driven solutions unique to our customers' needs."

Bridgestone announced an investment in and partnership with Kodiak in June 2021. As part of the partnership, Bridgestone integrated its smart-sensing tire technologies into Kodiak's autonomous trucks and have integrated smart tire technologies to further enhance vehicle intelligence for a safer, more efficient and more sustainable mobility future, the company said.

Additionally, Bridgestone is also Kodiak's exclusive tire supplier. J.B. Hunt also provides Bridgestone pickup and delivery services for multiple customer locations throughout the country.

"Our ability to build an autonomous delivery program with J.B. Hunt, one of America's best-respected and most innovative trucking fleets, and Bridgestone, a longstanding Kodiak investor and a leader in transportation technology, makes this a perfect collaboration," said Kodiak CEO Don Burnette. "Demonstrating the efficacy of our middle mile model and improving operational efficiencies for our customers sets us all on a course for rapid and sustainable growth."