Two electric freight trucks with no driver, and no cab at all, are now rolling on a daily schedule between warehouses in Marysville, Ohio. The trucks operate without anyone inside, moving freight on company property and nearby public roads while a remote operator watches each one from another location and can step in if needed.
The deployment comes from autonomous trucking company Einride and logistics firm EASE Logistics, which announced on Tuesday that the SAE Level 4 trucks are now live in daily freight operations between EASE warehouses in Marysville, according to Einride. The two cab-less vehicles shuttle between EASE's two Marysville facilities in a closed-loop run, as FreightWaves reported.
Exactly when the trucks first hit the road depends on who you ask. FreightWaves reported that EASE put the trucks into service in late August, while Heavy Duty Trucking, per truckinginfo.com, reported the companies said the trucks began operating in September. Either way, this marks EASE Logistics' third autonomous trucking deployment with DriveOhio, the state's automated-vehicle initiative.
From Proof-of-Concept to Daily Routine
The Marysville run didn't start as a full-scale operation. Back in May, Einride, EASE Logistics, DriveOhio and the Indiana Department of Transportation announced the deployment of the same SAE Level 4 trucks into proof-of-concept service between the EASE warehouses, according to a release carried by PR Newswire. Months later, that test run has become part of the daily freight schedule.
Einride Chief Technology Officer Henrik Green said the Marysville operations demonstrate that the company's autonomous system can operate with remote supervision in real-world conditions, according to WKRC. Daily operations in Marysville, the station reported, are meant to provide proof points for expanding autonomous freight across the corridor and beyond.
An $8.8 Million Bet on Automated Freight
The Marysville trucks are the most visible piece of a much larger effort: the Truck Automation Corridor Project, a joint undertaking of the Ohio Department of Transportation, DriveOhio and the Indiana Department of Transportation, as described by ABC6. The initiative launched in 2021 and carries an $8.8 million, multiyear budget, the same WKRC report notes.
Among the project's goals, per the Heavy Duty Trucking report, are evaluating how automated trucking could affect safety, fuel consumption and emissions, freight efficiency, and fleet adoption of automated vehicle technologies more broadly. The corridor is also meant to help fleets gain hands-on experience with automation along key Ohio and Indiana routes, and to cut fuel use and emissions while boosting efficiency, according to WKRC.
EASE Logistics President and CEO Peter Coratola Jr. said the deployment builds on the company's commitment to innovation in freight transportation and advances the broader adoption of autonomous freight, per the same WKRC report. Einride and EASE now plan to use operational data — including miles driven, loads moved and uptime — to guide the next phase of the deployment, according to Einride's own release.
What Happens With the Data
Since last month, the deployment has been generating operational data on safety, reliability and efficiency, Einride reports, though no accident, safety-performance or emissions results from the Marysville runs have been made public. That data is expected to inform discussions with ODOT, INDOT and potential logistics partners about expanding autonomous freight operations elsewhere in the region, according to the Heavy Duty Trucking report.
No confirmed expansion date, additional truck count or specific new routes have been announced. For now, the two driverless trucks remain on their scheduled loop between the Marysville warehouses, with remote operators standing by off-site should either vehicle need a human hand.
