Partnerships
TIER IV Targets Driverless Dump Truck Operations at Japanese Port
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TIER IV announced on November 12, 2026 that it has launched a collaboration with Shunan Bulk Terminal to automate a crewed dump-truck route at Japan’s Port of Tokuyama-Kudamatsu. Supported by Tokuyama, the companies aim to achieve driverless operations at the port by the end of 2028.
The initial work covers an existing route from Shunan Bulk Terminal’s storage area to Tokuyama’s in-house power generation facilities. The companies will develop both the technologies and the operational framework required for that specific site, including the on-site requirements associated with Tokuyama’s receipt of energy resources.
A Fuel Route Inside an Industrial Port
Shunan Bulk Terminal is a bulk-cargo handling and transportation company at the port and a consolidated subsidiary of chemical manufacturer Tokuyama. It unloads, stores and dispatches energy resources, including coal and biomass fuels, at the Port of Tokuyama-Kudamatsu, an international bulk strategic port on the Seto Inland Sea in Yamaguchi Prefecture.
Tokuyama uses those resources to generate electricity and steam at its in-house facilities, supporting the production of chemicals, advanced electronic materials and other products. That gives the automation project a defined role within Tokuyama’s energy supply, connecting the driving system with the industrial processes surrounding each delivery.
Ports in Japan’s coastal industrial areas support trade with Asian and other global markets while storing and transporting raw materials and energy resources for manufacturers. The companies identify driver shortages resulting from Japan’s aging and shrinking workforce, together with demand for labor-saving and more sustainable transportation, as reasons to automate operations at ports and nearby coastal areas.
Autoware, Fuel and Expansion Plans
TIER IV contributes expertise in developing, deploying and operating autonomous-driving technology, while Shunan Bulk Terminal brings experience in dump-truck transportation. TIER IV’s work uses Autoware, its open-source software for autonomous driving, and spans public transportation as well as specialized construction, agricultural and factory-transport vehicles.
The autonomous dump truck is planned to run on Idemitsu Renewable Diesel, a biofuel supplied by Idemitsu Kosan, one of Shunan Bulk Terminal’s shareholders. The companies aim to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions associated with transportation through its use, giving the project an emissions objective alongside its labor-saving rationale.
After gaining deployment and operating experience on the initial route, the companies plan to explore automation of similar transportation operations in and around the Port of Tokuyama-Kudamatsu. The broader work is presented as an opportunity to investigate, with the initial collaboration supplying the knowledge on which it would build.
That makes integration with Tokuyama’s existing energy-supply process central to the project’s wider value. The technical system and the site’s operating framework must develop together before the experience can inform automation beyond the original route.
