UPS joins the race for the future of delivery services by investing in autonomous trucks

The autonomous tractor-trailer of the future is a step further, with UPS in tow.

UPS announced Thursday an investment in TuSimple, a standalone truck startup, with the goal of reducing costs and delays in the ever-growing race for more efficient ground deliveries. UPS has already signed a contract with TuSimple for parcel delivery between Phoenix and Tucson since May, UPS said.

"During ongoing testing, UPS has been providing freight trucks to TuSimple so they can track a North American freight forwarding route between Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona. self-driving in May 2019, with driver and engineer in the TuSimple and UPS monitor the distance and travel time of trucks, safety data and transport time, "says release of UPS.

Neither company commented on the size of this investment.

In May, the US Postal Service (USPS) signed a contract with TuSimple to make five round trips between the Phoenix and Dallas distribution centers.

TuSimple

Like all autonomous vehicles currently operating, TuSimple trucks need a driver at all times. There is also an engineer on board. TuSimple is finally betting that its fleet can reduce shipping costs by 30%, according to the release.

Driver salaries represent the largest cost for trucking companies, accounting for up to 43% of operational costs, according to the American Transportation Research Institute.

A spokesman for the Teamsters Union, which represents the truck drivers, told ABC News that these self-driving trucks did not affect their members who were driving for UPS, as these trailers are used in air cargo logistics and do not are not parcel drivers, who are members of the union. .

"We are monitoring and continuing to keep up with technological developments regarding trucking automation," said the spokesman for the Teamsters Union.

"While fully autonomous, driverless vehicles still have development and regulatory work to do, we are excited about the latest advances in braking technology and other technologies mastered by companies such as TuSimple," he said. said Scott Price, Transformation and Processing Manager at UPS. "All these technologies offer significant safety and other benefits, and will be realized long before the global vision for autonomous vehicles is realized – and UPS will be there as a leader in the implementation of these new technologies. our park. "

The 4-year-old San Diego company also says its trucks "will increase road safety," said founder Xiaodi Hou.

TuSimple / Youtube

When the company announced its pilot program with the US Postal Service, its safety briefing addressed the difficulty of recruiting drivers for night shifts, which Mr. Hou said usually requires two drivers.

"The driving teams are difficult to recruit because of driving requirements overnight, the need to share a small space with another person and the significant shortage of truck drivers," he said.

While the e-commerce market is booming, so is the competition to deliver packages while adopting more efficient tracking systems and steering towards autonomous vehicles and robots.

In January, Amazon launched a delivery robot called Scout, with a human walker, for the latter "sales department" of deliveries. Earlier this month, the company announced the extension of the Scout test program in Irvine, California.

The online retailer announced in June that it plans to start delivering drones "in a few months".

In February, FedEx unveiled the "FedEx SameDay Bot", intended for same-day orders located less than 3 miles from a store. The program was scheduled to launch this summer in Memphis, Tennessee, with Autozone, Pizza Hut, Target and Walmart registered as partners.