The Fleet Lead

Autonomous spotlight: Kodiak's focus on AI

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.

This week in trucking: New vocational trucks, legal decisions

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
 

Trucking's "Law and Order" Era: Incoming TCA President Jim Mullen on FMCSA crackdowns, freight recessions, and emissions course corrections

Jim Mullen is replacing Jim Ward as president of the Truckload Carriers Association in early April. How will Mullen use his deep trucking industry experience—as a former mega-carrier executive, past FMCSA acting administrator, and leader in autonomous trucking and the Clean Freight Coalition—to guide the truckload sector through a massive regulatory shift?
FleetOwner's Josh Fisher sat down with Mullen at TCA's Truckload 2026 to discuss his "360-degree" perspective and his strategy for navigating trucking's new era of enforcement and economic recovery.
Timestamps:
0:40 - Industry sentiment
4:15 - Career background
7:30 - Lobbying and regulatory relations
10:30 - Impact of enforcement
13:20 - Hours of Service (HOS) pilot
16:00 - Clean Freight Coalition's future
24:20 - Autonomous technology
27:50 - Advice for carriers

This week in trucking: Tariff reruns, FMCSA wants more English proficiency

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

Daimler Truck's next diesel engine and the urgency of fleet renewal

As EPA's new NOx standards creep nearer, Daimler Truck North America this month revealed its next generation of complaint heavy-duty engines. The Detroit-branded Gen 6 diesel engines will be available in 13-, 15-, and 16-liter options that meet the looming 35-milligram NOx limit, and will power future Freightliner and Western Star trucks.
In the historic Detroit Manufacturing Plant, FleetOwner's Josh Fisher talks with David Carson, SVP of sales and marketing at DTNA, about the new engine, the state of on-highway and vocational trucking, and Carson's advice for fleets. To avoid a repeat of the 2022 capacity crunch and manage the rising maintenance costs of aging equipment, Carson advises fleet managers to "order early, order often" rather than waiting for perfect economic certainty.

Is manufacturing coming back to U.S.? Reshoring Institute talks tariffs, China, nearshoring

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

This week in trucking: emissions rollback, non-domiciled oversight

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

Ford Pro's take on tech shortage, work truck TCO, and journey to zero downtime

Modern work trucks have become very advanced, and OEMs' strategies to manage those trucks even more advanced. Ford Pro's Eric Rice, general manager of U.S. fleet sales, details the industry's latest trends: driver assistance, predictive maintenance, the technician shortage, and more.
Timestamps:
02:23 - Total cost of ownership
07:35 - Advanced safety tech
11:35 - The technician shortage
16:30 - Machine learning for actionable data
18:30 - Race to zero downtime

This week in trucking: Sysco loses retaliation suit, $200 million for truck parking

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

An AV vs. EV horse race: ACT Expo 2026

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