Aurora expands autonomous truck frac sand hauls in Permian Basin
Key takeaways
- Aurora is partnering with Detmar Logistics to operate 30 autonomous trucks hauling frac sand in the Permian Basin starting next year.
- Detmar's autonomous fleet will run on public roads.
- The autonomous freight industry is rapidly growing, with multiple autonomous technology companies going public, competing for market share, and expanding operations.
Autonomous trucking company Aurora Innovation announced plans to expand its operations to frac sand hauls in the Permian Basin.
Aurora is partnering with Detmar Logistics, a bulk logistics company specializing in frac sand solutions with over 200 trucks and 250 trailers. Detmar will operate 30 trucks using the Aurora Driver next year, with each unit hauling materials for over 20 hours a day.
“We expect autonomous trucks to become a competitive advantage to strengthen and grow our business in the years to come,” Matt Detmar, CEO of Detmar Logistics, stated.
With this project, Aurora joins another leading autonomous company in the Permian Basin. Kodiak’s RoboTrucks have hauled frac sand on private roads since July 2024.
The autonomous route will run on public roads
Detmar’s autonomous hauls will begin early next year, with human supervision, moving frac sand for one of the world’s largest multinational oil and gas companies. According to Aurora, Detmar will transition to fully driverless operations around the second quarter of next year.
Recent autonomous freight news roundup
The autonomous arms race charges ahead as several leading companies look to expand their operations in 2026. Some autonomous freight milestones in the last few months include:
- Plus and International launched customer fleet trials between Laredo and Dallas in September.
- Bot Auto completed its first Level 4 autonomous in Texas.
- Kodiak went public in September under the ticker KDK. Currently, KDK has a market cap of about $1.4 billion.
- Sweden-based Einride announced plans to follow Kodiak’s steps onto the New York Stock Exchange in the first half of 2026.
- In addition to announcing its Fort Worth to El Paso lane, Aurora in October also announced a milestone of 100,000 driverless miles and upgraded sensor equipment.
The autonomous trucks will run between Detmar’s facility in Midland, Texas, and Capital Sand’s mining site in Monahans. The route covers Interstate 20 with local and private roads surrounding Detmar’s facility and the mining site. Aurora is delivering advanced capabilities at the mining site, including autonomously navigating overhead filling silos for proppant loading.
Aurora became the first company to operate a commercial driverless trucking service on public roads in April, where it hauled between Houston and Dallas for customers like Uber Freight and Hirschbach Motor Lines. The company launched a lane from Fort Worth to El Paso in October.
For anyone interested in watching a day in the life of an autonomous truck, Aurora is livestreaming its Aurora Driver on LinkedIn every Tuesday and has several months’ recordings saved for ready viewing.
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Editor Jeremy Wolfe joined the FleetOwner team in February 2024. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point with majors in English and Philosophy. He previously served as Editor for Endeavor Business Media's Water Group publications.