Autonomous

Infrastructure and trade loom large for trucking in the year ahead as freight carriers adjust to a slower, but still positive, rate of economic growth in 2019, according to industry experts interviewed by Transport Topics.

The rise of automation has so far had a negligible impact on jobs at a global scale, the World Bank chief economist said, despite common gloomy predictions that humans are set to be replaced by machines.

Tesla Inc. plunged in early trading Jan. 2 after delivering fewer Model 3 sedans than analysts expected in the fourth quarter and cutting prices to partially make up for the federal tax credit that’s been halved in the U.S.

Without a doubt, 2018 was a banner year for trucking and almost every other form of freight transportation. Business investment took off, hiring picked up and freight volume soared with both domestic and international shipments sharing in the bounty.

The nation’s largest grocery chain stepped into the driverless delivery market Dec. 18, bringing milk, eggs and other items to a customer’s home in a vehicle with nobody at the wheel.

Driverless car startup Zoox Inc. became the first company to win approval to transport members of the public in its driverless test vehicles in California, according to a statement from the California Public Utilities Commission.

Uber Technologies Inc., which halted its self-driving car program after the death of a pedestrian in March, resumed testing of self-driving cars on public roads in Pittsburgh on Dec. 20, the company said.

Analysts and executives are concerned that political reaction may hinder the rapid growth of the drone industry after travel was disrupted at London’s Gatwick Airport for nearly two days before police arrested two people in a nearby town.

Autonomous vehicle pioneer Anthony Levandowski has formed a new software company called Pronto. Its first aftermarket product, Copilot, provides camera-based self-driving technology for the Class 8 market.

The Federal Communications Commission is deciding whether further testing is needed to determine if communications between connected vehicles, including trucks, can share a slice of spectrum with Wi-Fi broadband services seeking to use it, too.