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McLane pairs autonomous middle-mile hauls with human customer deliveries
Added 2026-10-14 · Reviewed 2026-10-15 · McLane Company
Read the source ↓What the company did
McLane reports testing Aurora’s autonomous driving system on Texas restaurant-supply hauls, then approving a move to driverless Dallas–Houston service. The operating model separates the middle mile handled by Aurora from customer-location deliveries made by McLane drivers.
How it went
Its May 2026 release attributes over 280,000 autonomous miles, 1,400 loads and 100% on-time performance to the supervised pilot begun in 2023. Those results preceded the driverless transition; additional distribution-center routes remained planned, and the pilot figures do not establish future safety or reliability.
Worth knowing
- The reported pilot reached two round trips daily, seven days a week; that is a defined lane schedule rather than unrestricted network coverage.
- Practical takeaway: Confirm the approved middle-mile lane, receiving cutoff and human-driver handoff before assigning perishable freight; define who handles a missed connection.
Sources & provenance
Aurora and McLane Company Partner to Bring Autonomous Trucks to U.S. Restaurant Supply Chain ↗
McLane Company · Published 2026-05-06 · Reviewed 2026-10-15
“McLane drivers handle deliveries to customer locations”
Aurora 2026 Analyst & Investor Day ↗
Aurora Innovation · Published 2026-09-23 · Reviewed 2026-10-15
“Software Verifiable AI proven on public roads”
Supporting evidence and review
Human review required
- Practical review advice: verify route availability, temperature requirements and handoff responsibilities.
- Coordinate exceptions between middle-mile service and customer-facing drivers.
Evidence & limitations
- McLane company report; the source describes both completed supervised pilot work and a driverless transition.
- Expansion to additional distribution-center routes was planned, not an established result.
- Reported on-time performance is not an independent safety or reliability guarantee.