The Fleet Lead

Autonomous trucking has real-world operations today—and the developers have bold plans for commercialization within the next two years. This week, the Fleet Lead's Jeremy Wolfe is hosting interviews with four of the industry's autonomous developers. Kodiak AI is a public autonomous truck developer with a focus on OEM-agnostic upfitting and edge computing. It achieved some of the first major autonomous milestones in recent years under its partnership with Atlas Energy. Here Don Burnette, founder and CEO of Kodiak AI, describes the state of autonomy today and outlines the company's achievements.

Here are the big stories from this week in trucking as of March 5: OEMs announced two new vocational trucks The Trump administration is changing independent contractor classification The Supreme Court is hearing arguments around broker liability Torc Robotics is moving autonomous hauls to Michigan Bot Auto is working with a broker for Texas hauls Diesel prices jumped 9 cents  

Jim Mullen, a former Warner Enterprises executive and acting FMCSA leader who later steered autonomous trucking and clean-freight advocacy, shares his 360-degree view. He discusses regulatory crackdowns and how enforcement helps compliant fleets. He explores Hours-of-Service pilots, emissions rule shifts, OEM readiness, and the pace of autonomous truck adoption.

Here are the headlines from this week in trucking as of February 26: The Supreme Court struck down IEEPA tariffs FMCSA is continuing its driver qualification crackdown Daimler revealed its next heavy-duty engine Spot rates increased over 2 cents Diesel prices jumped 10 cents

David Carson, SVP of Sales and Marketing at Daimler Truck North America, oversees commercial strategy and Detroit powertrains. He discusses the new Detroit Gen 6 diesel lineup that meets looming NOx limits. They cover regulatory timing, technical fuel-economy gains, pricing tradeoffs, vocational market strategy, and urgent advice for fleets to order early to avoid capacity and maintenance headaches.

The relocation of manufacturing back to the U.S. could be a boon for domestic freight. The pandemic recently spurred business interest in reshoring, but tariff volatility also paralyzed many investment decisions. Rosemary Coates, executive director of the Reshoring Institute, explains the current state of U.S. reshoring. Timestamps: 00:42 - The Reshoring Institute's mission 04:00 - Global supply chain vulnerability 06:30 - Tariff volatility and business paralysis 12:45 - Manufacturing moving to Mexico

Here are the trucking industry's headlines this week, as of February 12: EPA finalizes removal of trucks’ greenhouse gas regulations FMCSA makes another attempt to tighten non-domiciled CDLs TCA's next president will be Jim Mullen In fuel, diesel prices rose by 1 cent

Eric Rice, General Manager for Ford Pro U.S. commercial and government sales, explains how modern work trucks are becoming mobile offices and mission-critical tools. He covers total cost of ownership, advanced safety and trailer tech, the technician shortage and training efforts, AI-driven telematics turning data into action, and Ford’s push toward zero downtime with OTA updates and mobile service.

Here are the trucking industry's headlines this week, as of February 5: The latest highway funding bill includes truck parking Five employees won a $52 million verdict against food distributor Sysco EPA is looking to further weaken DEF derates Heavy-duty equipment demand in January was very strong Spot rates made a record-high jump Diesel prices increased 6 cents

Erik Neandross, president of TRC’s Clean Transportation Solutions Group, previews ACT Expo 2026 in Las Vegas. As the industry pivots from clean fuel goals to "clean intelligence," Neandross shares an insider’s look at where OEM and fleet capital is actually flowing this year. Timestamps: 2:00 - Shift to economic sustainability 9:53 - ACT Expo's focus on continuing education 13:40 - The rise of virtual drivers 20:06 - Software-defined devicles 24:11 - ACT Expo's keynote speakers: Rivian and Mack Trucks 30:23 - The Expo's move to Las Vegas