Berkshire-backed McLane signs up for driverless trucks in landmark US autonomy deal

Aurora Innovation has announced an agreement with Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary McLane Company to begin commercial driverless trucking operations between Dallas and Houston, in what analysts say is the most significant commercial deployment yet for autonomous long-haul freight in the United States.

The deal, announced on 6 May, will see Aurora's SAE Level 4 self-driving system run two round-trips per day between the two Texas cities, seven days a week, carrying perishable food and supplies for restaurant chains, convenience stores and mass merchants. McLane operates more than 80 distribution centres across the United States and employs 25,000 staff, making it one of the largest private fleets in the country.

The agreement follows a two-year supervised pilot in which Aurora's technology drove more than 280,000 autonomous miles and completed 1,400 loads for McLane, with a 100 percent on-time delivery record. Both companies plan to expand the partnership to new routes across the US Sun Belt by the end of 2026.

Aurora shares jumped more than 11 percent on the day of the announcement. Investors view the deal as validation of the company's commercial model after years of regulatory delays and investor scepticism over the timeline to profitability for autonomous trucking.

The Texas route remains a hybrid operation. Aurora's technology controls the long-haul middle mile, while McLane drivers handle final-mile delivery. A human observer remains in the cab at the request of truck manufacturer Paccar, though the observer does not operate the vehicle.

For the wider US trucking industry, the announcement signals a tentative step from pilot-stage testing to genuine commercial deployment, against a backdrop of persistent driver shortages, rising insurance costs and a steady stream of small-carrier bankruptcies.