DTL Orders 75 Kodiak Driverless Trucks for Sun Belt Freight Lanes

DTL Transport has signed a binding agreement to deploy Kodiak's autonomous-driving system in 75 driverless trucks owned and operated by the California carrier. TheTrucker.com reported October 29 that DTL will pay Kodiak a per-mile fee under a Driver-As-A-Service model. The companies describe it as the first publicly announced definitive agreement for an interstate carrier to operate driverless trucks within its own fleet under that structure.

Initial service is planned on Interstate 10 between Dallas and El Paso and on Interstate 20 between Dallas and Atlanta. Kodiak has already tested both corridors, and the companies expect additional lanes over time. DTL specializes in cross-country team operations and produce freight, making long-distance capacity and schedule reliability central to the proposed deployment.

The order follows a September pilot in which Kodiak technology hauled perishable freight 225 miles between Fresno and Los Angeles under a California Department of Motor Vehicles testing permit. Kodiak separately plans highway freight service for IKEA between Dallas and Houston by the end of 2026. Those plans and timelines remain company statements, not guarantees of operating performance or regulatory approval on every future lane.

For drivers and fleets, the practical issue is how the operating model changes specific jobs rather than whether all long-haul work changes at once. Autonomous routes still require terminal coordination, inspections, maintenance, loading, dispatch and exception response. A carrier considering similar technology should define safe operating domains, weather limits, roadside procedures, remote-support responsibilities and liability before launch. It should also communicate clearly with employees about route changes and training. A 75-truck commitment is a significant commercial step, but its results will depend on safe execution, uptime, customer service and the rules that apply in each state.