THE FUTURE OF FREIGHT: AI- AND AUTOMATION-POWERED SUPPLY CHAINS

The global freight industry is modernizing operations through emerging technologies and business models that promise more sustainable, efficient and responsive delivery of consumer goods and commercial products in the years ahead.

Top innovations set to transform freight transportation include alternative fuel vehicles, automation, real-time supply chain analytics, delivery drones and shifting attitudes around ownership.

Electric and hydrogen trucks can save logistics providers up to 50% in annual fuel costs while enhancing brand sustainability. Short range urban delivery vans are entering roads now, while leaders like Daimler aim for affordable long-haul e-trucks with 250 mile range by 2025. Supportive regulations and renewable energy grid integration will enable mass adoption.

Autonomous trucks are projected to dominate highways by 2040. Leaders like Waymo have logged millions of hands-free driving test miles. Allowing drivers to rest slashes labor costs and allows for near 24/7 driving. While remote oversight will persist initially, full unmanning could follow pending regulatory approval as safety confidence grows.

Supply chain visibility improves radically through sensors tracking location, condition and handling of freight equipment and assets in real-time across journeys. Emerging blockchain solutions also enable shared trusted documentation. Together these enhanced monitoring and prediction tools increase on-time delivery reliability.

Cargo drone delivery will displace certain high value, urgent freight tasks to access remote locales or isolated islands without infrastructure barriers at much faster speeds through the air. Aerospace leaders and startups alike are testing heavy payload capacity drones for long range operations. Last mile drone delivery may be deployed from moving trucks directly to save drivers stops.

Also the freight model shifts from business-to-business to business-to-consumer. Crowdsourced delivery services like Uber Freight harness excess capacity in vans and trucks through online marketplaces while sharing economy attitudes sees consumers lending out vehicle trunk space.

Massive technology infusion alongside shifting attitudes reimagines tomorrow’s hyper-responsive, nimble and lean supply chains tailored for e-commerce speed and sustainability. Freight transportation leaves the twentieth century behind at last.