What do you want for your birthday?
My answer today is very different from when I was a kid, or even a young adult.
All I want for my birthday this year is to spend the day at the beach with my wife and kids, and for another year of health.
Is that too much to ask for?
If not, then can I also get some soft serve ice cream, chocolate and vanilla twist, in a cone?
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Before I head out, here’s the supply chain and logistics news that caught my attention this week:
- DoorDash Is Cleared for Takeoff: Launches DoorDash Air, Our In-House Drone Delivery Program
- Aurora Launches Second-Generation Driverless Trucks in U.S. to Meet Customer Demand
- J.B. Hunt deploys agentic AI from incubator’s first startup (Transport Topics)
- project44 Launches Conversational AI Analyst to Turn Real-time Supply Chain Data into Faster, More Confident Decisions
- Moving Before the Storm: How Walmart’s Supply Chain Technology Helps Teams Prepare for Severe Weather
- C.H. Robinson loses in $604 million nuclear verdict (FleetOwner)
- Trump administration bans foreign-made humanoid robots in move targeting China (The Hill)
- Diesel Back in Spotlight as Middle East Conflict Escalates (WSJ – sub. req’d)
- WiseTech Global to acquire FRDM.ai supply chain risk and compliance intelligence, to accelerate development of VerifyWise
The Race to Scale: Drones and Driverless Trucks
Let’s take a break from geopolitical events and AI agents to revisit the latest developments in drones and driverless trucks — two transportation technologies that have been many years in the making but are making progress nonetheless.
DoorDash announced this week that it has earned Part 135 air carrier certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and is launching DoorDash Air, its in-house drone program. Here are some details from the press release:
FAA Part 135 certification is a significant regulatory and technical milestone. The process is rigorous and the standards are high: operators must pass a robust five-stage evaluation process verifying aircraft airworthiness, maintenance programs, and safety procedures. The bar for safety and operational reliability is where it should be for operating over communities, and we’re proud to become just the eighth drone operator to have earned this certificate.
Similarly to our ground robot, Dot, we’re designing and building our drone program inside DoorDash Labs, our in-house robotics and autonomy team. We’re designing an aircraft purpose-built for the gaps we see in local commerce, and it complements the short- and long-range designs our partners are scaling. Our drone is also proudly American-designed and built, with the majority of components made right here in the U.S.
The company adds that “drone delivery also solves unique challenges for local commerce. For example, more than 20% of orders on the DoorDash platform in 2025 traveled three to five miles, but those orders took on average nearly 25% longer than shorter deliveries, largely because finding the right Dasher takes longer for mid-range trips. Routing mid-range deliveries to drones lets Dashers focus on the orders they often favor: shorter deliveries that can be done quickly, staying near a high concentration of merchants for optimal routing, and maximizing their earning potential by getting them to their next order faster.”
Meanwhile, Aurora Innovation announced last week that it has launched its second-generation driverless trucks. According to the press release, “Aurora plans to deploy the new fleet across its commercial network, which currently encompasses 10 driverless routes throughout the U.S. Sun Belt, to serve additional customers.”
The announcement adds that “As of the end of June, the Aurora Driver [its self-driving system] has completed nearly 440,000 driverless miles. The company’s route expansion is also driving significant commercial momentum, underscored by a customer’s recent plan to purchase 500 Aurora Driver-powered trucks.”
In a November 2020 survey, we asked Indago members — supply chain and logistics executives from manufacturing, retail, and distribution companies — “Which of the following transportation modes in development do you believe will gain the most traction and deliver the greatest business benefits by 2030?”
Our members were almost evenly split, with 50% selecting “Driverless Trucks” and 45% selecting “Drones” (the remaining 5% selected “Delivery Robots”).
Almost six years later, it’s probably still a close race between the two. While broad adoption has taken longer than many expected, both technologies appear to be approaching an inflection point as technical capabilities, regulatory approvals, and commercial deployments continue to advance.
(Check out our past posts on drones and driverless trucks.
If this were a horse race, where would you place your bet: drones or driverless trucks? Which do you think will achieve widespread scale and business benefits first? Post a comment and share your perspective.
And with that, have a meaningful weekend!
Song of the Week: “Dance Now” by Girl and Girl
