North American trucking company US Xpress is testing technology from long-haul autonomous freight transport tech firm TuSimple. US Xpress has also partnered TuSimple and made a significant investment in the firm.

US Xpress has been working with TuSimple since 2019 and has recently begun testing the autonomous technology on select lanes for some of its major customers. From this testing, TuSimple can gather vital information and benchmark safety and efficiency standards.

According to US Xpress, the North American long haul freight business is suffering an acute shortage of professional drivers due to reduced CDL school graduates and the Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse. The company believes that autonomous trucks will give it additional options for its shippers and improve its portfolio of solutions.

Last year, US Xpress introduced a tech-enabled fleet, Variant, and in coming months, will be rolling out a new brokerage offering. US Xpress aims to transform from a traditional trucking company to a digital transportation solutions provider. The partnership with TuSimple is part of this strategy.

“We’re passionate about finding innovative solutions to industry challenges and investing now will give us a clear advantage when this technology matures in the years to come,” said Fuller. “Additionally, the Executive Advisory Board is bringing together market-specific insight from across the industry to help drive the development and adoption of this important technology.”

“US Xpress has been a valuable partner in the testing of our autonomous technology and Eric will continue to provide expert guidance in helping drive the adoption of autonomous trucks as a member of our Executive Advisory Board,” said Cheng Lu, CEO, TuSimple.