Driving The Autonomous Vehicle Market In 2021 — Midday Market Update

How will AV makers fair in the new year?

Kevin Hill and Michael Vincent break down todays market conditions.

Headlines

Central Freight Lines is the latest transportation company to suffer a cyberattack, with hackers knocking its operating system and call center offline last week. 

Forward Air was also hit by a ransomware attack last week and a new disclosure to the SEC reveals it may cost Forward Air some revenue. The company says it is back up and operating but is still actively responding to the attack. 

Christmas may not delay the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine as shippers try to get in a regular delivery rhythm. FedEx and UPS say they will deliver on the holiday if necessary. 

Project44 has finished its Series D financing round, raising $100 million to expand its carrier network and increase visibility to its clients. 

Zach Strickland joins the show for an update on market indices and says capacity continues to be tight heading into Christmas. He says there is a shift toward West Coast activity even though tender rejections are still incredibly high. 

Anthony Smith provides a look at the most recent stimulus package passed by Congress. He says that the delayed passage has dropped consumer confidence and that drop was worsened by the latest COVID-19 surge. 

What 2021 could mean for autonomous vehicles

We covered TuSimple's partnership with Traton Group earlier this year and Jim Mullen, chief legal and risk officer at TuSimple, comes on to talk about the goals for the next year. 

He says the future looks incredibly bright because the technology is "much more advanced than people think."

Right now TuSimple is building an AV freight network running along the I-10 corridor from Texas to Arizona, and in 2021, the company will focus on expanding the network with hopes to have a completely driverless truck on the roads in 2024. 

Competition will drive AV advances 

FreightWaves' Alan Adler echoes the excitement for the future of the autonomous vehicle market, saying all the major players are doing the right thing to expand. 

Adler cites growth with Waymo, partnerships among TuSimple, Traton and Navistar and advancements by manufacturers like Daimler as measures of the good health of the AV market. 

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