As e-commerce volumes surge and labor challenges persist, logistics giants like FedEx are turning to automation to streamline one of the most grueling tasks in the supply chain: loading and unloading trucks.
Speaking in a recent interview, FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam acknowledged that automating truck loading and unloading remains a daunting engineering challenge.
“It’s a very complex problem,” he said. “Can you imagine trying to figure out how to (get the robot to) load or unload?”
FedEx is now actively trialing robotic systems, possibly aided by its investment into Nimble, to tackle this problem – a development that could have profound implications for warehouse operations around the world.
Explainer: Truck loading/unloading vs. palletizing/depalletizing
Before diving deeper, it’s important to understand the distinction between truck loading/unloading and palletizing/depalletizing, two tasks that are often confused.
Truck loading and unloading involves moving goods into or out of a truck trailer. The goods might be palletized or loose.
Palletizing and depalletizing refers to stacking individual items onto a pallet (palletizing) or removing them (depalletizing), typically within a warehouse.
In many industrial and manufacturing operations, trucks transport palletized goods that can be easily handled by forklifts.
However, in high-volume parcel delivery networks – like those operated by FedEx, UPS, and Amazon – trucks are often loose-loaded, meaning thousands of individual packages are packed tightly into a trailer.
Loose loading poses an extreme challenge for automation: packages vary in size, weight, and orientation, and the robot must navigate a confined, often messy environment.
Robotic palletizers and depalletizers, which work in controlled settings with consistent item types, have been commercially viable for years. Fully automating loose-loaded truck operations, however, remains one of the final frontiers in warehouse robotics.
Five companies automating truck loading/unloading
While the problem is complex, several companies – both startups and established players – are making notable strides. Here are five robotic solutions at the forefront:
1. Ancra Systems (Netherlands)
Ancra Systems specializes in Automated Truck Loading Systems (ATLS) and has been working in this space for over 35 years.
Their solutions – such as the Skateloader and LoadRunner Plus – use mechanized conveyor systems that extend into trailers, enabling rapid loading and unloading of palletized or unitized cargo.
Ancra’s systems are especially effective where goods are standardized, helping reduce truck turnaround times from 30 minutes to as little as 3-8 minutes.
(Notably, Ancra’s videos and systems, including interviews that RoboticsAndAutomationews.com has conducted in the past, have generated significant attention among warehouse automation audiences – see video below.)
2. Dexterity AI (USA)
Dexterity AI recently partnered with FedEx to develop DexR, a dual-arm robotic system designed specifically for loose-loaded truck tasks.
DexR combines computer vision, force sensing, and AI algorithms to pick up, orient, and stack parcels efficiently within trailers. It adapts to differences in package size, weight, and even shifting cargo in real time.
Dexterity’s solution represents one of the first real-world attempts at full robotic truck loading, moving beyond pallet handling.
3. Boston Dynamics – Stretch Robot (USA)
Best known for its advanced walking robots, Boston Dynamics has also built a warehouse robot called Stretch.
Stretch uses a custom vacuum gripper mounted on a robotic arm with an omnidirectional base. It is primarily designed for unloading packages from trucks but could also support partial loading operations.
Its vision system can identify and pick packages at a rate of hundreds per hour, making it a strong candidate for trailer unloading in parcel hubs.
4. Pickle Robot (USA)
Pickle Robot specializes in autonomous truck unloading.
Their robots, such as Dill, use suction-based grippers and advanced perception systems to unload loose packages from trailers – a tedious job that typically requires teams of human workers.
Pickle has focused on creating fast, affordable solutions that can be retrofitted into existing facilities without major infrastructure changes.
5. Slip Robotics (USA)
Slip Robotics takes a different approach.
Instead of building robots that move individual packages, Slip’s AMR systems move entire pallet-sized slip sheets that can be loaded or unloaded from trucks within five minutes.
While this works best for palletized goods, Slip’s solution highlights how robotics can optimize truck-to-warehouse interfaces for various cargo types.
Why truck loading/unloading automation matters
Labor shortages, rising labor costs, and the sheer physical toll of truck loading/unloading make this task ripe for automation.
At the same time, growing e-commerce volumes mean that parcel carriers must find ways to scale operations without simply hiring more workers – a strategy that is increasingly unsustainable.
If companies like FedEx, UPS, and Amazon can deploy reliable robotic truck loading and unloading systems, they could drastically:
- Reduce operational costs
- Improve worker safety
- Increase package throughput
- Shorten loading/unloading times
- Better utilize trailers by optimizing load density
However, the task remains one of the hardest in warehouse automation – a real-world 3D puzzle with irregular, fragile, heavy, and shifting pieces.
As FedEx’s CEO suggested, cracking this problem will require some of the most advanced robotics and AI capabilities available today.
