Here are the headlines from this week in trucking:

Kodiak completed its first autonomous truck hauls under the new California testing rules

Autonomous truck developer Kodiak AI has completed its first autonomous truck deliveries with the California DMV testing permit. California in April this year finally began to allow autonomous truck testing on public roads in the state, and Kodiak received its testing permit in August.

Kodiak is partnering with California trucking company DTL Transport, running perishable commodities from Fresno to a distribution center in Los Angeles, roughly 225 miles.

Kodiak also entered a partnership with PrePass this week to facilitate autonomous truck bypass processes.

Waabi put another autonomous route under its belt

Another autonomous truck developer, Waabi, successfully ran a haul with its autonomous driver in Texas, from Dallas to San Antonio on I-35. The company notably said that the driver did not need any new real-world data, simulated data, fine-tuning, or additional engineering to make the run.

California passed a law speeding approval of aftermarket emissions parts

California’s governor Gavin Newsom signed a law that accelerates how quickly manufacturers can sell aftermarket emissions parts. The law helps manufacturers get conditional approval to sell, advertise, and install products while the California Air Resources Board (CARB) reviews their application.

Newsom signed the bill in Jay Leno’s garage alongside other pieces of automotive legislation, including one on collector vehicles titled Leno’s Law.

Fleets keep increasing driver pay rates

As the hiring market for drivers remains tight, a few carriers have announced increases to their driver pay lately:

• K&B Transportation bumped the pay for its Road Warrior over-the-road drivers from 70 cents to 82 cents per mile.
• ATS raised its regional van driver rates by 16%, from $0.60 per mile to $0.70 per mile.
• Roehl Transport issued a press release announcing another increase in driver pay but did not include per-mile pay details.

Fuel haulers have an hours-of-service waiver

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued an hours-of-service waiver for gas and diesel fuel haulers. Fuel haulers can drive for up to 16 hours in a 24-hour period under the waiver. FMCSA claims that the waiver is in anticipation of greater fuel-hauling demand for most of the remaining year. The waiver lasts until December 16.

Last week’s spot rates were great for flatbed loads

The total average broker-posted spot rate increased by 2 cents, according to analysis from FTR Transportation Intelligence. Dry van rates dropped by about 3 cents to $2.74 per mile. Refrigerated rates fell 6 cents to $3.56 per mile. Flatbed rates, meanwhile, increased more than 5 cents to $3.31 per mile.

In fuel, the price of diesel rose 24 cents

The national average on-highway diesel price rose to $6.53 per gallon, according to weekly data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), or $6.51 according to the latest data from AAA. The Iran War continues.