MATCHING THE BIG BOX
KEEPING IT ROLLING
Muuga Harbor, Estonia’s largest cargo port, commands a prime shipping location on the Gulf of Finland, due south of Helsinki. Across its sprawling shipyard, yard trucks, or terminal tractors, shunt semi-trailers around, with no one on board. Not driverless, but remotely operated, as well as electricallyered and packed with technology that dramatically increases efficiency and safety. It is human-in-the-loop automated mobility with future-proof technology and zero emissions; sustainable in every sense of the word.
Fernride is redefining the role of a truck driver, at a time when it was never needed more, and promising it’s just the beginning.
From moving internal production supply, container handling in terminals, yard shunting of swap bodies and trailers, and Hub-2-Hub transportation, its goal is to build a relevant bridge to the future for autonomous driving across ecosystems.
On a fast, but precise track
Only four years in, the German software developer is technically a startup, but its progress says otherwise. That’s credited to a foundation of a decade of research.
Fernride chose to initially target the logistics industry, “the backbone of global trade,” for its Transportation-as-a-Service solutions. In Europe alone, more than 100,000 trucks are in use at ports and shipping terminals, providing the opportunity to greatly, and quickly, reduce carbon footprints.
The supply chain has still not completely rebounded after the pandemic, because the current logistics model is no match for ever-increasing demand. Factor in the global shortage of truck drivers. Europe is short about 300,000, or 10%, predicted to increase to 50% by 2026. The ever-increasing demand for delivered goods is an obvious factor, but only part of this equation. An inherent list of issues includes demanding working conditions and a challenging lifestyle for relatively low wages, and is driving both an exodus to other industries and deterring younger generations. The average age of over-the-road (OTR), long-haul drivers is inching closer and closer to retirement age. There’s no light at the end of that tunnel.
In addition to being ripe for change, logistic facilities also offer the ideal proving grounds; a sort of closed circuit with standardized trucking procedures that offer both the control and the wide application Fernride sought.
For operators, it signals relief from the challenges of spiraling volume and costs.
Drivers bring all their expertise to an upskilled, much more user-friendly version of the job.
For Fernride, it is the first step to its vision of autonomous vehicles for all. It’s actually advantageous to field test with large customers that can easily scale their operations, in response to increased efficiencies. It’s a massive optimization opportunity that will allow Fernride to grow to the point of being able to pivot to providing the service to …
