PepsiCo signed a multi-year agreement with autonomous trucking company Gatik to deploy driverless freight vehicles across its North American supply chain, marking the largest commercial autonomous freight deployment to date. Gatik — already operating fully driverless trucks for Fortune 50 retailers in Texas — will now expand to PepsiCo's distribution network, covering middle-mile routes between distribution centers. The partnership validates autonomous trucking's transition from pilot programs to scaled commercial operations, with implications for driver utilization, fuel efficiency through optimized driving patterns, and 24/7 freight movement capability. The deal reinforces the view that autonomous trucking's first commercial frontier is structured middle-mile routes rather than long-haul highway driving.
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