Quantum Routing AI Cuts Cross-Country Freight Delivery Times by 18%

In the unforgiving world of long-haul trucking, small efficiency gains can spell the difference between profitability and loss. The U.S. freight sector, which moves over 70% of the nation’s goods by weight, has long struggled with razor-thin margins, volatile fuel costs, and persistent labor shortages. Until recently, routing decisions were constrained by classical computing systems that could only evaluate a limited set of variables before performance degraded. On May 28, 2025, that bottleneck broke.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), working with Rigetti Computing and TransContinental Logistics, announced the completion of a four-month nationwide pilot that applied quantum-enhanced routing to live freight operations. The results were eye-catching: cross-country deliveries were completed 18% faster, fuel consumption dropped 9%, and late shipments fell 27%.

For an industry worth nearly $900 billion annually, these improvements could translate into tens of billions of dollars in savings — without adding trucks, stretching driver hours, or expanding infrastructure.

Why Classical Routing Falls Short

Routing trucks across a continent is far more complicated than plotting a line from point A to point B. Dispatchers and algorithms must balance dozens of competing factors:

• Storm systems that shift by the hour

• Traffic bottlenecks that vary by minute

• Fuel prices that fluctuate daily across stations

• Bridge weight limits and hazardous cargo rules

• Federal regulations that cap driver hours of service

Traditional optimization software has made steady progress since the 1990s, but it runs into a hard limit: combinatorial explosion. The more variables added, the harder it becomes to calculate the optimal solution. Algorithms often settle for “good enough” routes, leaving potential savings on the table.

Quantum computing, however, thrives in this space. By representing variables in superpositions, quantum algorithms can explore millions of potential permutations simultaneously, rapidly converging on optimal or near-optimal solutions that classical systems might miss entirely.

Inside the Pilot

The trial deployed Rigetti’s 1,000-qubit Aspen-M3 superconducting quantum processor, paired with a classical optimization framework. Every 15 minutes, the hybrid solver recalculated route options across TransContinental’s national fleet, factoring in:

• Weather forecasts and live storm radar feeds

• Connected highway data on congestion and accidents

• Fuel pricing at hundreds of truck stops nationwide

• Driver rest windows, tracked to ensure regulatory compliance

• Infrastructure constraints, such as bridge restrictions and hazardous material bans

The outputs flowed directly into TransContinental’s existing dispatch platform. Dispatchers could approve or tweak recommendations, but the system often found solutions beyond human intuition.

One standout feature was load clustering: the ability to combine multiple partial shipments into consolidated runs. By reducing empty backhauls — a chronic inefficiency in trucking — the system cut wasted miles by 22%, saving $6.4 million in fuel and labor over the four-month trial.

“This wasn’t about adding more trucks to the road,” said Mark Hollis, CEO of TransContinental Logistics. “It was about making every mile smarter. Quantum gave us options we simply couldn’t see before.”

Tangible Results

The impact of the pilot can be summarized in three headline figures:

• 18% faster deliveries: Cross-country hauls from California to New York that once averaged six days were consistently arriving in under five.

• 9% fuel reduction: Smarter routing and optimized refueling stops shaved thousands of gallons off fuel bills.

• 27% fewer late deliveries: By dynamically rerouting around storms and congestion, on-time performance jumped significantly.

These metrics came without extending driver hours or bending federal safety rules — a critical factor in maintaining compliance.

USDOT Deputy Secretary Rachel Lin called the results “a milestone in freight modernization,” adding that ripple effects could extend beyond trucking. “Disaster relief, emergency response, even municipal fleet services could benefit from this type of real-time quantum optimization.”

Beyond Freight: Carbon and Resilience

The pilot’s implications stretch into two pressing issues: climate and resilience.

Freight trucking accounts for roughly 7% of global CO₂ emissions, and the U.S. has pledged steep cuts by 2035. Rigetti engineers confirmed that the next generation of the system will include carbon-intensity mapping, allowing carriers to choose greener routes when time and costs permit.

“This technology gives us a lever to cut emissions at scale, without waiting for electric trucks to dominate the fleet,” said Hollis. “Efficiency is the fastest path to sustainability.”

Resilience is equally critical. U.S. supply chains have been hammered in recent years by extreme weather, the pandemic, and geopolitical disruptions. By recalculating routes dynamically, quantum systems can buffer shocks — keeping goods moving even when conditions change overnight.

Strategic Implications

For Rigetti, the trial demonstrated that quantum computing is not just a laboratory experiment but a tool ready for high-value industries. Freight logistics, with its enormous data complexity and cost sensitivity, may prove to be one of the first large-scale commercial domains where quantum delivers a durable edge.

Analysts predict that if quantum routing is deployed broadly across U.S. fleets, annual savings could hit $25–30 billion. Globally, the figure could exceed $100 billion, with ripple effects across manufacturing, retail, and eCommerce.

International competition adds urgency. China and the EU are both investing heavily in quantum logistics platforms, seeing them as strategic infrastructure. By deploying early, the U.S. could position itself as a leader in quantum-enabled trade.

The Road Ahead

Following the pilot’s success, USDOT confirmed that it will incentivize adoption of quantum routing technology across more carriers in 2026, with special grants aimed at mid-sized fleets. TransContinental Logistics has already begun expanding deployment across its 20,000-truck network, betting that the competitive advantage will outweigh early adoption costs.

“Quantum is no longer an experiment for us,” Hollis said. “It’s becoming a core operational tool.”

As the industry braces for tighter emissions standards, rising fuel volatility, and persistent labor shortages, quantum routing may offer something rare in logistics: a genuine leap forward. Not an incremental upgrade, but a rethinking of how freight moves across a continent.

The May 28, 2025 pilot will likely be remembered as the moment quantum optimization moved from theory into the heart of the global economy.