Door and millwork manufacturer Steves & Sons, Inc. is entering a pilot program with autonomous trucking technology startup Bot Auto, the companies announced.
Managed logistics provider J.B. Hunt Transport Inc., will advise San Antonio, Texas-based Steves & Sons in integrating autonomous trucking into its operation, initially among routes in Texas to and from San Antonio and Dallas and Houston, the company said, in a release.
“We’re proud to be working with J.B. Hunt and Bot Auto to drive innovation and stay at the forefront of technology,” said Scott Lovett, chief operating officer at Steves & Sons, in a statement. “This collaboration is about more than improving logistics—it’s about reimagining how our industry operates to meet the evolving needs of our customers and communities.”
Operating just six trucks out of its Houston, Texas base, with two more being retrofitted, startup Bot Auto is the creation of Xiaodi Hou, the former co-founder of former autonomous trucking company TuSimple, now rebranded as CreateAI, pivoting to AI gaming technology.
After his forced departure from TuSimple in 2022 he created Bot Auto, bringing along several other former TuSimple employees.
Working with several local dealers and outsourcing most of the hardware, Bot then retrofits the trucks with its autonomous technology at its facility, according to Hou. For now, he’s keeping the company from growing too quickly.
“We are a very scrappy company now. So one thing that we need to resist doing is to scale up before we’re ready,” said Hou, in an interview this past May.
Bot Auto has six autonomy equipped trucks with two more being currently retrofitted.
In March, the company began a minimum four-month pilot program hauling cargo for commercial shippers between Houston and San Antonio with no driver behind the wheel.
For Steves & Sons, the pilot program involving Bot Auto and J.B. Hunt represents both a step forward and a bit of an experiment with autonomous trucking.
The focus will be on streamlining plant-to-customer transfers and improving logistical planning and execution, according to the company.
Indeed, the combination of economics and an ongoing driver shortage has added impetus to the move towards moving goods on autonomous trucks.
As of last summer there were more than 78,000 unfilled truck driver positions according to CDLjobs.com, while a report by Ryder System Inc. notes “industry experts predict that if trends continue, the number of unfilled positions could exceed 170,000 by 2030.”
Contributing to the persistent driver shortage are several factors including “the job’s demanding nature, involving long hours on the road and extended periods away from home, deters many potential candidates,” the Ryder System report reveals. “Although competitive, pay rates often don’t fully compensate for the tough working conditions, further discouraging new entrants. These factors combined create a perfect storm, resulting in a growing gap between the demand for truck drivers and the supply available to meet that demand.
It’s all leading to more companies looking at the feasibility of moving their goods in driverless trucks and new partnerships like this latest one between Steves & Sons and Bot Auto.
“This is not just a technical upgrade—it’s a cultural shift,” Lovett declared. “We’re investing in the future of American manufacturing by building smarter, safer, and more adaptive supply chain systems that support our employees, our partners, and the customers we serve.”
TTAC Creator Ed Garsten hosts ” Tales from the Beat,” a podcast about the automotive and media worlds. A veteran reporter and public relations operative, Garsten worked for CNN, The Associated Press, The Detroit News, Chrysler’s PR department and Franco Public Relations. He is currently a senior contributor for Forbes.
The TTAC Creators Series tells stories and amplifies creators from all corners of the car world, including culture, dealerships, collections, modified builds and more.
