Autonomous driving technology could replace some 294,000 long-distance truck drivers over the next 25 years, a lighter impact than some have predicted but one that could still significantly reshape freight-industry employment, according to a new research paper.

Big trucking companies, scrambling along with their customers to keep up with fast-growing U.S. economic demand, are plowing millions of dollars into technology to build up services as digital freight middlemen.

Shipping group Maersk said on Thursday 94 companies and organizations have so far joined a blockchain platform developed with IBM aimed at boosting efficiency and limiting the enormous paper trail of global container shipping.

Dada-JD Daojia has raised $500m from existing backers JD.com Inc. and Walmart Inc. to quicken the growth of its delivery network across China.

A truck driver for the Schwebel Baking Co. rolled out of Cleveland toward Rochester, N.Y., on a recent day with a trailer full of freshly-made sandwich rolls and buns. Less than an hour into the run, sensors tied to his tractor-trailer started sending a stream of urgent data messages that led the big rig to turn around and head back to the bakery.