News came out in February 2025 that Volvo Autonomous Solutions (VAS) and Waabi formed a partnership to improve the world of autonomous trucking. Pairing Volvo’s autonomous trucks with Waabi’s next-gen AI solutions, the trucking industry’s about to change. How will this partnership impact freight factoring?
Understanding the Potential Impact of the Waabi and VAS Partnership
What exactly is the partnership between Waabi and VAS? It’s a partnership focusing on developing and deploying autonomous trucks throughout the nation. This collaboration focuses on integrating Waabi’s advanced AI technology into Volvo’s autonomous trucks.
- Heightened Efficiency When Planning and Driving Routes
Imagine a truck that doesn’t require a driver, which is essential with the increased trucking jobs and driver shortages. That truck is programmed with advanced AI to calculate the best route, recalculate if there are road closures or accidents, and provide accurate arrival times. The recipient knows when to have a crew to load or empty a trailer, which lessens wait times for offloading.
- Reduction in Human Error and Accidents
Advanced AI and autonomous driving systems are also less prone to human error. Trucks in autonomous freight transport aren’t at risk of drinking too much with a meal and driving while impaired or taking a cold and allergy medication and driving while drowsy. The autonomous driving system drives at a safe speed and makes data-informed changes if road conditions worsen due to storms or environmental issues like smog or wildfires.
- More Driving Time
Autonomous trucks don’t need breaks. They can drive all day and night without needing to take a break to sleep. Bathroom breaks, meal breaks, and stops to get out and stretch become unnecessary. Having to plan for hours when a driver is off-duty is no longer a factor. Trucks can be on the road 24/7. That increases the potential for many more deliveries each day.
Truck drivers remain an important part of the industry as face-to-face interactions are still required in some aspects of the job. However, some deliveries don’t require drivers to leave their trucks. As autonomous vehicles complete those deliveries where the crew at the destination unloads the trailer, it will go smoothly, safely, and efficiently with VAS and Waabi’s new trucks.
How Does That Impact Freight Factoring?
Freight factoring is a financial service where you sell your invoices to the factoring company at a discount. That discount is a freight factoring fee that reduces the amount you’re paid. Suppose you have an invoice for $10,000 and the factoring fee is 5%. You’d be paid $9,500 and the factor gets the $500 fee.
The main benefit of freight factoring is that you get paid immediately, which helps with a strong cash flow. You no longer wait months to get paid by your client. Imagine no longer having to juggle business credit cards to cover bills until your clients pay. The factoring company takes over the wait and collections if your client doesn’t pay on time.
Freight factoring is a financial service. Just as you must undergo credit checks to get a credit card, bank loan, or mortgage, your freight factoring request is also scrutinized. The factor assesses the risk of the client not paying on time or at all by completing a business credit check. A truck driver’s safety record is a factor.
With autonomous trucking, efficiency and safety are key. That means factoring arrangements will have lower freight factoring fees because of the safety, efficiency, and ability to deliver more loads each month. Real-time data is a constant, which makes it easier to track shipments and send bills of lading as soon as a delivery is complete.
All of this helps you receive immediate payments. That leads to a strong cash flow, and the ability to grow your trucking business by investing in more autonomous trucks.
The AI software added to Volvo autonomous trucks could be paired with freight factoring software that reduces having to submit bills of lading each time a delivery is completed. You could simply have the truck programmed to send the information straight to the factoring agency for processing the second the freight is unloaded.
Factors That You Need to Keep in Mind
Still, as positive as the partnership between VAS and Waabi is, there are things to keep in mind.
- Uncertain Regulations
Government regulations regarding autonomous vehicles haven’t been addressed. As of 2018, only 15 states had bills in place related to autonomous vehicles. Most states have weighed legislation, but it’s still an area in development.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has standards that require assessment of automated driving systems and their safety, but temporary exemptions are allowed. The NHTSA also established a voluntary system for companies and state agencies to submit automated driving systems tests, but it’s not mandated.
Currently, if an autonomous truck is in a crash, it has to be reported to the NHTSA. It has to be in a crash though, close calls are not counted.
- Data Security Is at Risk
Cybersecurity is a risk. If the AI system within an autonomous truck is breached, the results could be devastating. Breaches could impact the ability to factor future invoices without a higher fee. It may become necessary to adjust business insurance policies to cover the potential of breaches and hacks.
Adjusting to these new changes and ensuring security patches are installed ASAP requires your time and attention. Powerful data security tools also must be implemented and managed.
- Possible Server Outages and Software Failures
Have you ever been working on your computer and gotten an error? You’re in the middle of your bookkeeping software when it crashes. This is one risk with AI and autonomous trucks. Keeping software updated is important, but there needs to be a backup plan in place if there are software glitches or server outages.
Because the technology is still new, many of us will need to be ready to adjust to new laws and regulations as they appear. That’s why working with an expert in both freight factoring and the transportation industry is so important.
Reach Out to the Team at Saint John Capital to Get Paid Fast
As this partnership could shake up the freight industry, it’s hard to tell exactly what will happen until the industry adjusts to autonomous trucks and delivery vans. One thing seems certain, deliveries will be more reliable. The time it takes to submit bills of lading is bound to improve. Those are both aspects that will make freight factoring go smoothly.
Saint John Capital is backed by decades of experience helping trucking industry professionals get paid quickly. Not only are our fees among the lowest in the industry, but we also offer additional benefits that help you build a strong cash flow as you grow your business. Reach us by phone or email to learn more about our different freight factoring options.
