McLane's Aurora pilot logs over 280,000 autonomous miles and 1,400 loads ahead of driverless runs

McLane is one of the largest distributors in the United States, serving chain restaurants, convenience stores and mass merchants and moving supplies and perishable food for restaurant brands. Aurora says autonomous trucks moving refrigerated hauls offer scalable capacity that can flex with demand, help address ongoing labor constraints, and support more consistent transit schedules and dependable middle-mile coverage.

McLane and Aurora began a supervised autonomy pilot in 2023 using the Aurora Driver, an SAE L4 self-driving system first being deployed in long-haul trucking. The pilot grew to two round trips daily between Dallas and Houston, seven days a week, under a hybrid model in which the Aurora Driver handles the long-haul middle mile and McLane drivers handle local deliveries to customer locations. Under a new agreement, McLane has approved the transition to driverless operations between Dallas and Houston, and the hybrid model will continue.

Aurora reports that during the supervised pilot that began in 2023, the Aurora Driver logged over 280,000 autonomous miles in Texas and delivered 1,400 loads for McLane. Based on Aurora's record of safely delivering goods for McLane with 100% on-time performance, McLane approved the move to driverless operations between Dallas and Houston. Aurora plans to expand to new routes between McLane distribution centers across the U.S. Sun Belt by the end of the year, but McLane's intent to expand the partnership is subject to definitive documentation.

• A supervised pilot on a defined route built the safety and on-time record that supported the move to driverless operations.
• A hybrid model, with autonomy on the middle mile and company drivers on local delivery, lets a distributor adopt driverless trucks without changing its customer-facing last mile.
• Expansion beyond the first route is described as a plan, so treat the wider rollout as a target until it is formalized.