Driverless trucks hit Ohio roads daily—what’s next for freight autonomy?
Two SAE Level 4 electric trucks now operate daily in Marysville without drivers on board.
Two driverless electric trucks are now running daily freight routes between EASE Logistics warehouses in Marysville, Ohio, as part of a push to move autonomous trucking from controlled pilots into real-world operations. The SAE Level 4 vehicles, operated by Swedish technology firm Einride, navigate scheduled routes across EASE property and local public roads with no one aboard, only a remote operator monitoring off-site.
The deployment, announced this week, builds on a proof-of-concept project unveiled in May and is part of the Truck Automation Corridor Project, an $8.8 million initiative launched in 2021 by the Ohio and Indiana Department of Transportation of Transportation.
The trucks, which entered service in late August, shuttle between EASE’s two Marysville facilities, generating operational data on safety, reliability, and efficiency since last month. The companies plan to use the data to support scaling talks with transport authorities and prospective logistics partners. For EASE Logistics, the move is also about shaping regulatory conversations.
“There’s some level of autonomy coming into the freight industry. And what we don’t want is our lawmakers and legislators to decide what that looks like for us without someone who understands the operation at the table,” said Failla, a representative of EASE Logistics. The company, founded in 2014 by Peter Coratola Jr., specialises in automotive logistics, hauling food and beverage, consumer packaged goods, retail, and healthcare freight. Its processes were built to meet the demands of auto plants, where delays can shut down assembly lines.
EASE’s collaboration with Einride began after the two companies met at a mobility conference in Ohio last year. The partnership is EASE’s third autonomous trucking deployment with DriveOhio, the state’s smart mobility initiative. “Daily operations in Marysville give us the proof points we need to keep expanding autonomous freight across the corridor and beyond,” said Henrik Green, CTO at Einride.
How the trucks work, and what’s next: Ohio
The two cabless electric trucks operate in a closed loop between EASE’s Marysville warehouses, running back and forth to test manpower requirements, obstacle navigation, and optimal time frames. “You still have to have a human load and unload those things,” Failla noted. “But what kind of obstacles does it see navigating around trucks, loading in, loading out, what time frames are best?”
The trucks are monitored by remote operators who can take control when needed, though the goal is to reduce reliance on human intervention over time.
EASE’s processes were designed to meet the demands of auto plants, where a single sequence trailer can involve 1,400 to 2,000 suppliers. “We’re not talking about sending racks from the Midwest all the way to Texas,” Coratola said. “We’re talking about getting them out of the plant to a pickup location closer where they can then go on an over-the-road truck.".
The deployment is also seen as a way to address labour challenges in the freight industry.
The next phase of the project will focus on scaling the technology, with EASE and Einride using the data collected in Marysville to support talks with ODOT, INDOT, and other logistics partners.
For the freight industry, the Ohio deployment marks a critical step toward integrating autonomy into daily operations. Peter Coratola Jr. put it, the goal is to “help move autonomous trucking from controlled pilots into daily freight operations.” With regulatory frameworks still evolving, the data from Marysville could shape the future of autonomous freight, not just in Ohio, but across the U.S.
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