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J.B. Hunt (JBHT), Waymo Add Wayfair to Test Autonomous Trucks

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J.B. Hunt Transport Services (JBHT - Free Report) announced an advancement to its autonomous trucking pilot program in collaboration with Waymo, an autonomous driving technology developer. The pilot program will include delivering goods for JBHT’s customer, Wayfair (W - Free Report) , a company selling home goods online.

The pilot will span six-plus weeks between July and August, and goods will be transported along the I-45 corridor between Houston, TX and Dallas, TX, which is where JBHT’s initial pilot with Waymo took place a year ago. The transportation of home furnishings and retail freight will take place on Waymo’s autonomous Class 8 trucking unit, Waymo Via, utilizing Level 4 autonomous driving technology. J.B. Hunt carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

As part of the pilot program, J.B. Hunt, Waymo and Wayfair will monitor and evaluate data on delivery logistics, loading and unloading freight, among other factors influencing the overall driving and non-driving experience. J.B. Hunt 360° technology will be used in the pilot to automate check calls, transactions and other processes to improve driving efficiency. During each trip, a commercially licensed driver will be present in the truck to monitor the Waymo driver’s operations.


Following the initial pilot in 2021, J.B. Hunt and Waymo extended their collaboration this January, aiming to deploy fully autonomous trucking operations in Texas over the next few years. No accidents occurred while moving more than 862,000 pounds of freight during the pilot, and there was 100% on-time pick-up and delivery.

Through the pilot program, Wayfair, carrying a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), will be using Level 4 autonomous vehicle technology for the first time for freight transportation. The company offers a wide selection of more than 33 million products from more than 23,000 suppliers.

Wayfair’s chief global supply chain officer, Sean Halligan, said, "We’re excited to continue our work with J.B. Hunt and their willingness to collaborate with us on this autonomous commercial vehicle test as a part of our overall strategy to evolve our logistics strategies and end-to-end supply chain solutions."

A Key Pick

A top-ranked stock in the Transportation - Truck industry is Covenant Logistics Group (CVLG - Free Report) , sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). CVLG has a stellar earnings surprise history, having outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the preceding four quarters, the average beat being approximately 28%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Shares of Covenant Logistics have gained nearly 20% in a year’s time.


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