Sasko Cuklev stood in Dallas this week to announce the end of the lonely highway. The Head of On-Road Solutions at Volvo Autonomous Solutions confirmed that the Volvo VNL Autonomous is now hauling freight to Oklahoma City five days a week. Partnering with Aurora, the Swedish giant is proving that the long-haul driver is becoming as obsolete as the telegram.

While Volvo invests $2 billion in new tech, a startup called Humble has launched its "Humble Hauler." It is a fully autonomous, cabless electric Class 8 vehicle designed to move freight from dock-to-dock without a human in sight. Waabi, another autonomous provider, recently secured $1 billion in venture capital to ensure this transition happens at "algorithmic velocity."

FedEx's incoming CEO John A. Smith told the ACT Expo in Las Vegas that his company is pivoting toward predictive AI and network optimization. For the elites in the boardrooms, this is "practical sustainability." For the people who used to drive the trucks, it is a clinical removal of human agency from the logistical supply chain. The road is finally being cleared for the robots.