Ryder Revealed as Initial Autonomous Fleet for International

Ryder is operating a daily 600-mile route along the I-35 corridor between company locations in Laredo and Temple, Texas, as part of the pilot. (International Motors)

International Motors pulled the curtain back on initial fleet trials of second-generation autonomous LT Series tractors March 31, identifying Ryder System as the first publicly announced participant as well as details on a couple of performance indicators.
The truck maker also noted a transition in testing to point-to-point operations from hub-to-hub routes.

Ryder ranks No. 6 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America and No. 5 among truckload/dedicated fleets. Ryder also ranks No. 7 on the TT Top 100 list of the largest logistics companies.

Miami-based Ryder is operating a daily 600-mile route along the I-35 corridor between company locations in Laredo and Temple, Texas, as part of the pilot.

The trial began in November and the carrier is operating one tractor at present in the trial, James Cooper, International’s head of autonomous solutions, told Transport Topics.

Traton Group unit International unveiled plans for the trials in September in collaboration with its self-driving software partner PlusAI. The identity of fleets participating was not revealed at the time.

Cooper said trials are underway with other carriers as International has a fleet of 12 tractors available, but the identity of those companies will remain undisclosed.

Initial Results

The initial results from the pilot include 100% on-time delivery; 92% autonomous route coverage, supervised by a human safety driver; a pre-trip inspection of less than 30 minutes, which is in line with current expectations; and improved fuel efficiency.

International did not provide details on fuel-economy savings, and Cooper said no figures were being made public as yet. Operational cost reductions — alongside longer hours of service — are seen as a major benefit of the introduction of autonomous tractors.

The truck maker said the pilot was focusing on validating factory-integrated autonomous solution and driving software from PlusAI in real-world logistics operations, including identifying optimal use cases.

“The exciting part is we’re seeing the technology in a real-world application. [There’s] nothing manufactured around the origin or destination. We’ve not changed schedules. We’ve not changed service level expectations. We’re … monitoring it and judging it based on how we would judge that lane under normal operational activity.” 

“As an OEM, our target is to provide our customers with an end-to-end solution including vehicles, digital solutions, and operational support services, allowing customers to operate directly from their existing infrastructure and minimizing additional complexity,” Cooper noted in a statement accompanying the announcement.

Expanding on the aims in the interview with TT, Cooper said the purpose of the program was not just to demonstrate the technology. It also was to create a readiness within International’s program and a readiness at Ryder in which the carrier understands what it will to need and what it will to need to do in the future when it comes to operating autonomous vehicles.

Night Driving on Customer Routes

Meanwhile, Santa Clara, Calif.-based PlusAI on March 5 said it expected to introduce night driving on customer routes, as well as construction zone handling on SuperDrive 6.0 in the coming weeks.

“We are currently in the final stages of validating the night driving release from PlusAI. So, it’s not yet part of [the Ryder] daily operation. It is scheduled to be part of it very soon and we’re testing with it,” Cooper told TT.

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Cooper 

PlusAI, whose SuperDrive software operates only on factory-built autonomous trucks, is working toward a commercial launch in 2027.

The company has partnerships with Iveco and Hyundai as well as Traton. Since the start of 2026, PlusAI has expanded its partnerships with Traton and Iveco.

Traton in January promised PlusAI up to $25 million in dedicated research and development funding as part of an expansion of the companies’ partnership. Traton also will hold a board seat when PlusAI goes public, which is scheduled for later in 2026.
PlusAI and Traton first teamed up in 2024, with the software developer supporting autonomous trucks across the VW Group unit’s heavy-duty truck divisions: International, Scania and MAN.