Loblaw inks five-year deal to scale AI-powered autonomous trucking
Loblaw inks five-year deal to scale AI-powered autonomous trucking
Retail giant Loblaw Cos. Ltd. has expanded its commercial partnership with autonomous freight leader Gatik. Marking a milestone for the autonomous trucking industry, the companies have signed a first-of-its-kind, multi-year growth agreement to deploy Gatik’s autonomous fleet across Loblaw’s distribution network in the Greater Toronto Area.
Under the initial phase of the expansion, 20 autonomous trucks equipped with Gatik’s next generation sensor suite will be deployed by the end of 2025, with a further 30 autonomous trucks to be deployed by the end of 2026, creating a scalable platform for future growth phases. The new fleet will include cold-chain-ready vehicles optimized for the movement of time-sensitive grocery and household items.
This growth agreement signifies the largest planned roll-out of autonomous trucks in North America, a move that transitions Gatik and Loblaw from initial deployment to commercial operations at scale, an industry-first in the autonomous vehicle sector. The expanded fleet will initially be deployed with safety drivers onboard, before transitioning to Freight-Only (driverless) operations across Loblaw’s regional distribution networks in the GTA, delivering goods with greater frequency and responsiveness to over 300 Loblaw stores.
Under the expanded partnership, Loblaw has made a strategic investment in Gatik, strengthening Loblaw’s commitment to scaling Gatik’s autonomous solution within its extensive supply chain and helping to rapidly accelerate fleet expansion and geographic growth within Loblaw’s priority markets.
“This expanded partnership with and investment in Gatik represents a significant step forward in our commitment to innovation and supply chain sustainability,” said Rob Wiebe, chief administrator of Loblaw Cos. Ltd. “Autonomous logistics will enable us to move more orders more frequently for our customers. We are excited to continue leading the way nationally in retail distribution with Gatik’s groundbreaking technology which has already been proven across our operations.”
“This is a transformational moment, not just for Gatik and Loblaw, but for the autonomous trucking sector globally,” said Gautam Narang, CEO and co-founder of Gatik. “It’s the first time a major retailer has transitioned from pilot to commercial scale with autonomous trucks, directly addressing Canada’s growing driver shortage, delivering the true benefits of autonomous logistics — reliability, safety and scalability — to millions of Canadians.” \
