Shipments by TFI’s LTL unit increased 7.5% to 1.97 million in Q2 2026 from 1.83 million in Q2 2025. (Tforce freight)
key takeaways:
- CFO David Saperstein told analysts on July 27 that TFI International plans to deploy autonomous trucks in its U.S. truckload linehaul business in 2027.
- Saperstein said autonomous trucks could boost operating hours and fuel efficiency as TFI’s LTL shipments increased 7.5% year over year to 1.97 million.
- TFI is working with an undisclosed developer and plans widespread deployment if the test is successful, while Saperstein said the technology could spur industry consolidation.
TFI International plans to introduce autonomous trucks as part of its U.S. less-than-truckload linehaul business in 2027 and expand the use of tractors elsewhere in its operations, according to a key executive.
And going forward, TFI Chief Financial Officer David Saperstein expects the expansion of autonomous trucking will change the landscape of the freight transportation market, leading to mergers among the largest trucking companies.
Montreal-based TFI is ranked No. 6 on Transportation Topic’s Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America. Its LTL unit is ranked 8th, while its Truckload unit is ranked 3rd.
The majority of TFI’s LTL operations consist of the unionized TForce freight fleet in the United States. The unit also includes a Canadian LTL segment.
Shipments by TFI’s LTL unit increased 7.5% to 1.97 million in Q2 2026 from 1.83 million in Q2 2025.
TFI is working with an unnamed autonomous truck developer, Saperstein told analysts during the carrier’s second-quarter earnings call after the market closed July 27, because the technology has improved much faster than the executive and his peers expected.
“Next year we’ll own some of this technology; we’ll just see how quickly we can scale it up. Right now it’s very hard to say how quickly,” Saperstein said. “If it works, we’ll expand it beyond linehaul into LTL. It has a lot of applications for us.”
The executive lauded the benefits of introducing autonomous trucks, noting the ability to last for many more hours and operate with greater fuel efficiency than a human driver. Additionally, driver turnover will be reduced, the one-time investment banker said.
Among self-driving truck developers, 2027 was already shaping up to be an important year, with Aurora Innovation, PlusAI, and Torque Robotics set to scale up operations to commercial scale in 2027. Additionally, self-driving passenger vehicle pioneer Tesla is also promising to be part of the supply equation.
Saperstein said the large-scale proliferation of autonomous trucks has the potential to transform the rental truckload and LTL landscape.
“It’s extremely interesting to think that this is becoming widely implemented in our industry, what it means for consolidation among well-capitalized (carriers),” the executive said. “I think what that means is that you’re going to have a lot of consolidation and the players with big capital that can afford this technology are going to dominate it. Trucking probably looks a little bit like rail in that way.”
