UPS invests in autonomous trucking company TuSimple

ATLANTA — UPS announced its venture capital arm UPS Ventures is investing in autonomous driving company TuSimple and testing self-driving tractor trailers.

The tests of self-driving trucks started in May 2019 on a route between Phoenix and Tucson in Arizona with a driver and engineer in the vehicle, according to UPS.

The company said it wants to better understand what would be required for autonomous trucking in its network, at a level where “the vehicle’s onboard computer is in complete control at all times, eliminating manual intervention.”

TuSimple, founded in 2015, aims to bring the first self-driving truck to market with technology for shipping companies to operate self-driving tractor-trailers.

UPS noted that it contracts with third-party trucking companies to handle the influx of shipments during its peak holiday shipping season, and TuSimple believes it cut the costs of that contracted trucking by 30 percent.

Late last year, the threat of a strike by UPS Freight workers prompted the company to disrupt freight service. UPS Freight handles bulk shipments on pallets from shippers to stores, and when the union announced the potential for a strike, the company temporarily cleared its network of freight until workers approved the new contract.