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In an abandoned lot on the outskirts of Sacramento, Calif., R1, a domed gray vehicle half the size of a Toyota Corolla, is practicing driving itself. It stops at stop signs, yields to people, and handles sharp turns, as other self-driving vehicles do on test courses in Silicon Valley, Detroit, and China.

The U.S. trucking industry is continuing to adjust to the federal electronic logging device mandate that took effect late last year.

A Starship landed in Jacksonville, Fla. But there were no aliens on board, just 40,000 pounds of reef-building material hauled cross-country in an experimental lightweight truck with streamlining everywhere.

General Motors Co. and Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo rocked the auto industry last week with self-driving deals that will have each deploying thousands of robo-taxis onto U.S. roads over the next 18 months. Ford Motor Co., meanwhile, will continue biding its time.

As truck makers and technology developers work toward introducing vehicles with some level of automated driving features in the years ahead, it will be essential for drivers to have a clear understanding of what those systems can and cannot do and how much they can rely on them.

The rise in freight being carried nationwide led to a rise in truck driver turnover in the first quarter as large trucking firms demanded more qualified drivers to transport goods.

KLLM Transport Services will institute another pay hike for company drivers, bringing the increase to 30% in just the past eight months, the Jackson, Miss.-based over-the road carrier announced.

RALEIGH, N.C. — Fleets saw their roadside breakdowns increase by 21% in the first quarter this year compared with the fourth quarter of 2017, according to the Truckload Vertical Benchmarking Study from American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council and FleetNet America.

Orders for new Class 8 trucks more than doubled last month versus year-ago levels, according to preliminary data from ACT Research.

RALEIGH, N.C. — The threat of cyberattacks to the trucking and logistics industries is real, the number of attacks are growing and each attack has the potential to cripple a company, according to a panel of experts June 6 at the Fleet Data Management and Cybersecurity Conference here.