Immediate Focus on Optimizing Routes For Autonomy Before Deploying Automated Trucks
Las Vegas, NV—Locomation, a leading provider of autonomous trucking technology solutions, today announced an eight-year agreement with Christenson Transportation, Inc., a top mid-sized transportation provider, to boost its fleet capacity with Locomation autonomous truck technology. Locomation has previously signed contracts with Wilson Logistics and PGT Trucking. The announcement was made at the Truckload Carriers Association Annual Conference in Las Vegas.
Using Locomation’s proprietary planning and scheduling systems, Christenson will restructure its operating model to run its trucks 20+ hours per day. The company will then deploy 500 trucks equipped with Locomation’s Autonomous Relay ConvoySM (ARC) systems on five separate Autonomous Relay NetworkSM segments. Christenson Transportation is focused on increasing their available capacity in the markets they serve. With Locomation’s freight optimization, Christenson will increase capacity by 52%, reduce empty miles by 50%, and improve fuel efficiency by 18%. The impact of the increased loaded miles and 30% reduced operating cost, combined with increased market share on the lanes they operate on, is expected to quadruple Christenson’s bottom line net profit. Including the significant reduction in GHG emissions for their shipper customers, Christenson’s AV service promises to be a win-win for everyone.
“We are thrilled to partner with Locomation to offer autonomous trucking services to our customers,” said Don Christenson, president of Christenson Transportation. “We chose Locomation because we’re convinced they are bringing to market the safest and most viable turnkey model to enable us to deploy autonomous technology in the near term. For Christenson, this is an incredible opportunity to establish a strong early mover presence in the lanes we’ve chosen to launch in and enable us to double our market share.”
Locomation’s ARC system is a human-led convoy of two trucks that are electronically tethered. This Human-Guided AutonomySM solution enables one driver to operate the lead truck while a second driver rests in the follower truck, allowing carriers to safely operate two trucks for 20-22 hours per day, all while remaining in compliance with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Hours-of-Service regulations. Locomation will enable carriers to deliver 2x the cargo, 2x farther, 2x faster, while reducing the per truck GHG Footprint by 22%.
“We are delighted to enter this partnership with Christenson Transportation,” said Dr. Çetin Meriçli, Co-founder and CEO of Locomation. “With our system in place, Christenson will be primed to boost capacity while saving money, time, and fuel in the short term. Christenson will be at the forefront, able to grab the opportunities that come with operating a supply chain custom built for autonomous trucks.” Today’s Christenson announcement follows last week’s announcement that Wilson Logistics has recommitted to deploying 1,120 ARC units on its southwest routes starting in 2023.
About Christenson
With two locations (Springfield, Missouri and Lebanon, Tennessee), Christenson Transportation is a family-owned company founded by Gene Christenson in 1979 as a brokerage firm. The truck line started in 1995 and has the company running in all forty- eight contiguous states. They specialize in the hauling of high-value, high-risk, and time-sensitive freight including tires, pet food, paper, electronics, and other general commodities.
About Locomation
Locomation is re-engineering the world’s supply chain for autonomy with a portfolio of AV products and a suite of tools that enable our clients to implement an operating model for autonomous vehicles. Launched in 2018 by veterans of Carnegie Mellon’s National Robotics Engineering Center, the Locomation team includes some of the world’s foremost experts in robotics technology, artificial intelligence, trucking, freight optimization, safety, and automotive. Learn more at https://locomation.ai or follow us on Twitter at @LocomationAI or on LinkedIn at https://http://linkedin.com/company/locomation.