Autonomous trucking company Kodiak Robotics announced a partnership with truckload carrier C.R. England. To kick off the partnership, the companies have launched a pilot program to autonomously ship Tyson Foods products between Dallas and San Antonio, Texas. The deliveries will launch this month using Kodiak autonomous trucks and C.R. England refrigerated trailers. Safety drivers will be in the trucks in the initial stages of the pilot.

C.R. England also joined Kodiak’s Partner Deployment Program, which helps carriers establish autonomous freight operations and integrate Kodiak Driver, Kodiak's autonomous system, into their fleets. 

“One of the categories where C.R. England is a leader is in perishable foods, which require the safest, most reliable, on-time delivery possible," said Chad England, CEO. "By employing self-driving trucks, we can increase capacity and expedite deliveries without sacrificing customer service, as our valued drivers will take over to interface with customers and consignees at either end of the load. Our intent is to be a ‘one-stop shop’ for customers, whether they need their freight moved autonomously or not.”

103-year-old family-owned C.R. England chose to partner with Kodiak due to the companies’ shared focus on safety, sustainability, and reliability of service.

“C.R. England’s extensive premium service network provides the ideal scenario for the introduction of autonomous trucks,” said Don Burnette, founder and CEO, Kodiak. “The potential benefits of Kodiak’s technology are far-reaching — for shippers whose reputations are built on the freshness of their products, to end consumers who rely on companies like Tyson Foods to provide products they can trust. Our partnership with C.R. England will clearly demonstrate our value proposition of increasing safety, efficiency and reliability for Tyson Foods and the entire supply chain.”