Tyson Foods to test self-driving poultry delivery trucks

Tyson Foods will partner with C.R. England Inc. and Kodiak Robotics Inc. to pilot autonomous shipping of poultry and other meat products between Dallas and San Antonio, Texas.

“Tyson Foods is pursuing the leading edge of technology in all aspects of our business, especially in transportation,” said Patrick Simmons, vice president of transportation at Tyson Foods. 

“Autonomous trucks are just one piece of the puzzle in this innovation journey to use technology to operate more efficiently and to help ensure our transportation loads are delivered in a timely fashion.”

The program, launching in April, will initially include safety drivers in the Kodiak self-driving trucks towing C.R. England self-driving trailers. 

Autonomous freight shipping could offer increased safety and reliability, reduced fuel consumption and lower carbon emissions. In addition, the self-driving trucks are a “huge benefit” to “an industry where there is a shortage of truck drivers,” the press release said.

Chad England, CEO, C.R. England, said: “By employing self-driving trucks, we can increase capacity and expedite deliveries without sacrificing customer service, as our valued drivers will take over to interface with customers and consignees at either end of the load. Our intent is to be a ‘one-stop shop’ for customers, whether they need their freight moved autonomously or not.”

“C.R. England’s extensive premium service network provides the ideal scenario for the introduction of autonomous trucks,” said Don Burnette, founder and CEO at Kodiak. “The potential benefits of Kodiak’s technology are far-reaching — for shippers whose reputations are built on the freshness of their products, to end consumers who rely on companies like Tyson Foods to provide products they can trust.

Tyson Foods has invested heavily in automation over the past few years, including $1.3 billion to upgrade their poultry processing plants.

Headquartered in Springdale, Arkansas, Tyson Foods, according to the WATTPoultry Top Companies survey, processed 206.68  million pounds of ready-to-cook chicken on a weekly basis in 2022. It remains the largest poultry producer in the United States.