EASE Logistics, the Dublin-headquartered freight brokerage, is running fully driverless electric trucks at its Marysville warehouses and has logged about 3,000 miles of automated platooning on Ohio highways.

The company's autonomous trucking work, first reported in depth by Signal Ohio, includes three projects alongside DriveOhio, an office within the Ohio Department of Transportation that then-Gov. John Kasich created by executive order in 2018.

Two cab-less electric trucks built by Swedish company Einride are hauling real cargo between EASE facilities in Marysville at about 15 mph, according to FreightWaves. The vehicles, classified at SAE Level 4 (high automation) autonomy, have no traditional cab. A remote operator monitors them off-site and can step in if needed.

The deployment is part of the Ohio Department of Transportation and DriveOhio's Truck Automation Corridor Project, developed with the Indiana Department of Transportation. Peter Coratola Jr., president and CEO of EASE Logistics, said in a statement to FreightWaves that the Marysville deployment helps move autonomous trucking from controlled pilots into daily freight operations.

On the highway side, EASE has tested platooning on I-70, where a trailing truck automatically steers, accelerates and brakes in sync with a lead truck. A human backup driver rides in the second cab. The platooning technology comes from Kratos Defense of California, and the trucks display purple lights when operating in that mode so law enforcement knows they are digitally connected.

No crashes occurred during the I-70 tests. A final report on earlier deployments in Southeast Ohio noted six "excess braking" events, Signal Ohio reported.

Chief Administrative Officer Abbi Fallia told Signal Ohio the platooning system is ready to operate without a second driver. "It's more of a regulation thing than a capability thing," she said.

DriveOhio spokeswoman Breanna Badanes offered a more cautious assessment, telling Signal Ohio the technology is progressing but not yet ready for removing the backup driver.

EASE wants to expand its Einride truck testing onto a nearby 45 mph road or U.S. 33, a major commuter route connecting Dublin and Marysville. That step would carry the company's autonomous freight work closer to Dublin's doorstep.

Putting fully autonomous trucks on Ohio public roads beyond testing would require a change in state law. Ohio allows self-driving vehicles on roads only for testing and research.

No timeline has been announced for when EASE might begin testing on U.S. 33 or when Ohio lawmakers might take up changes to autonomous vehicle law.