Setting the standard: How Aurora and McLeod are simplifying self-driving truck adoption

Autonomous trucking is no longer a vision — it’s here. Now, we’re focused on increasing customer adoption and creating a frictionless customer experience.

We recently announced a strategic partnership with McLeod Software to create the industry’s first Transportation Management System (TMS) with direct access to autonomous transportation. With McLeod serving more than 1,200 customers, this collaboration will make it easier for carriers to unlock autonomous transportation capacity. 

Today, Russell Transport, a leader in U.S. freight transportation, announced plans to be the first carrier to leverage McLeod’s TMS to tap into and manage Aurora’s autonomous trucks — a powerful proof-point of how we’re turning this vision into reality. This also means that Russell Transport is a new customer for Aurora, underscoring our momentum and increasing industry traction in the months following our successful commercial launch. 

This week at the McLeod User Conference, Aurora is demonstrating how carriers can unlock autonomous capacity through the tools they already use — McLeod’s trusted TMS — without adding complexity to daily operation.

More than an integration, this is a catalyst for industry-wide adoption — lowering barriers, reducing complexity, and opening new opportunities for carriers.

Meeting carriers where they are

The U.S. trucking industry is a cornerstone of the supply chain, yet it faces persistent challenges:

• Empty miles and underutilized trucks leading to inefficiency and lost revenue

• Aging workforce and systemic driver shortages

• Hours of service constraints

• Rising labor costs

The Aurora Driver is designed to address these pain points. But developing self-driving technology is only part of the journey. Ensuring carriers can easily integrate autonomy into existing workflows is where the real value is unlocked for our customers.

TMS systems like McLeod’s serve as the backbone for scheduling, dispatch, billing, and load management. Without integration, even the best new technology risks adding complexity instead of delivering value. That’s why embedding Aurora’s capabilities directly into McLeod’s TMS sets a new standard for accessibility. 

How the integration works

Together, Aurora and McLeod are developing an integration that allows carriers to manage autonomous trucks within their existing TMS workflows. This means carriers can:

• Tender shipments to be hauled on Aurora’s autonomous trucks

• Track and manage shipments in real time, with visibility into autonomous operations

No system switching. No new platforms to learn. Just a straightforward, intuitive extension of what carriers already know. For McLeod customers, the screens, processes, and workflows stay familiar — now with the added power to integrate autonomy into their fleets.

Setting a new standard for efficiency

By eliminating unnecessary friction, Aurora and McLeod are lowering the barriers to autonomy across the industry. Carriers don’t need to reinvent their networks. Instead, they can:

• Adopt self-driving with less disruption

• Gain access to Aurora’s autonomous capacity through McLeod’s  trusted TMS platform

• Improve fleet utilization and safety while maintaining operational continuity

This collaboration builds on Aurora’s progress in recent years integrating the Aurora Driver into customers’ existing operations, tools, and workflows. Together, these efforts are shaping the playbook for how self-driving technology fits into daily operations. Aurora and McLeod are already testing with customers, with expanded features expected to roll out soon. And momentum is growing.

Reach out to our team to learn how this integration can unlock value for your business — and if you’re at the McLeod User Conference, come see it in action!