Self-Driving Trucks Haul Tyson Foods in Texas

A Kodiak and C.R. England pilot on the Dallas-San Antonio route tests autonomous freight to address the truck driver shortage.

Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Robotics

Self-Driving Trucks Haul Tyson Foods in Texas

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Would you trust self-driving trucks to deliver the food you buy?

Tyson Foods is taking part in a pilot program that delivers its products by self-driving trucks between Dallas and San Antonio, Texas. The autonomous deliveries launched in April using Kodiak self-driving trucks and C.R. England refrigerated trailers, with safety drivers aboard during the initial stages. The development is a pilot already operating on public roads, not a general commercial service.

Why it matters

Carriers face a shortage of truck drivers, and autonomous freight is being tested as a way to keep long-haul perishable deliveries running on fixed routes. C.R. England's partnership through Kodiak's Partner Deployment Program shows the model of integrating a driverless system into an existing fleet rather than building a separate operation.

The source does not provide measured performance figures for the Kodiak self-driving trucks or the pilot deliveries. Its only quantified detail is that C.R. England is a 103-year-old family-owned business consistently ranked among the nation's top carriers for time-critical, perishable freight.

The players

Kodiak Robotics Inc.

Autonomous trucking company whose Kodiak Driver system runs the self-driving trucks and whose Partner Deployment Program helps carriers integrate it.

C.R. England, Inc.

A 103-year-old family-owned carrier providing refrigerated trailers and joining Kodiak's program to add self-driving trucks to its fleet.

Tyson Foods

Food processing company whose products are being shipped in the autonomous pilot between Dallas and San Antonio.

The details

Kodiak's Driver is the autonomous software system installed in the trucks, and the pilot pairs it with refrigerated trailers from C.R. England to carry temperature-sensitive goods. Under the Partner Deployment Program, Kodiak helps carriers set up autonomous freight operations and fold the Kodiak Driver into their existing fleets. C.R. England drivers take over at either end of an autonomous load to handle contact with customers and consignees.

April: autonomous Tyson Foods deliveries between Dallas and San Antonio launched.

The Tech Race

Kodiak's Partner Deployment Program is positioned as a route for established carriers to adopt autonomous trucks without building their own operations from scratch. The C.R. England integration and the Tyson Foods pilot show the program moving from partner announcement to deliveries on a live Texas corridor.

Shipping customers and food buyers on the Dallas-San Antonio corridor may see Tyson Foods products moved by autonomous trucks, though the source gives no timeline for wider rollout. Safety drivers remain aboard during the initial stages, and C.R. England drivers handle customer handoffs at each end of an autonomous load.

The takeaway

Watch whether the Dallas-San Antonio pilot moves toward removing safety drivers and whether C.R. England adds more autonomous lanes under Kodiak's program. Any published delivery volume or safety data from the pilot would show whether the model is scaling.