Getting the most out of autonomous horizontal transport

Imagine your terminal's horizontal transport between quay and yard being handled by autonomous vehicles. These vehicles use on-board intelligence to determine routes and sensors to avoid collisions, all without manual drivers. They can safely operate alongside manned external trucks.

Autonomous vehicles can be categorised as Autonomous Terminal Trucks (ATTs) or Intelligent Guided Vehicles (IGVs). Some terminals have already adopted one of these options.

In this article, we explore Haskoning’s perspective on the application of autonomous transport for container terminals. We cover the potential benefits, key challenges, industry complexities, and how this emerging technology can be leveraged.

Potential benefits

Autonomous horizontal transport offers potentially interesting benefits for terminals. We identify three major benefits:

• Improved working conditions and safety are significant benefits. Employees will transition from working with heavy equipment in varying weather conditions to air-conditioned, ergonomically designed workspaces. This change reduces the chances and impact of accidents, as there are no human drivers prone to fatigue and errors present on the vehicle.
  
  
• Autonomous vehicles claim to not require segregation from external trucks, unlike conventional horizontal transport automation using AGVs. This results in fewer layout changes and increases operational flexibility when converting your brownfield terminal with terminal trucks to autonomous vehicles.
  
  
• Implementing autonomous horizontal transport is expected to reduce the number of operators needed per vehicle, reducing potential labour shortages and optimising labour costs.
  
  

But like any other (emerging) technology, autonomous horizontal transport does not only come with benefits.

Effective and efficient application requires solving multiple challenges

Given the novelty and different nature of autonomous transport, several challenges need to be resolved to implement it effectively and efficiently. In this section we dive into five major challenges:

• The financial business case should balance CAPEX (e.g. increased autonomous vs. manual vehicle CAPEX, extra software, and potential civil adjustments), OPEX savings (e.g. labour and fuel) and non-financial improvements (e.g. safety and labour conditions). Given the novelty of the technology, obtaining clear and accurate CAPEX & OPEX data (e.g. vehicle cost, software license fees, vehicle maintenance) to make this financial business case can be challenging.
  
  
• It is currently uncertain if the operational performance of autonomous horizontal transport meets your terminal’s requirements. Autonomous vehicles typically take a conservative approach in interactions with other equipment types and drive at reduced speeds due to safety considerations. This can reduce productivity, especially when operating in congested areas. It is essential to also review if all necessary functionality, such as sequencing at STS cranes, can be provided by autonomous horizontal transport.
  
  
• Application of autonomous vehicles could require layout changes that take up valuable terminal space. Multiple early adopters are applying dedicated lanes for external trucks or autonomous vehicles, sometimes combined with segregation infrastructure and traffic lights at junctions. Terminals like to limit this space usage, but this can only be accommodated safely if autonomous vehicle technology is sufficiently mature.
  
  
• Legal responsibility in case of accidents is currently unknown. Is the terminal operator, the autonomous vehicle supplier, or another involved party (e.g. security or system integration supplier) responsible? This legal risk needs to be managed by clearly defining the Operational Design Domain (ODD) and co-developing the autonomous horizontal transport solution with suppliers to fit your terminal’s needs.
  
  
• Implementing autonomous transport in your terminal requires changes to your IT systems and office setup. The control system of autonomous vehicles must interact with other systems, such as the Terminal Operating System or Equipment Control System, to receive transport jobs and line up with yard or quayside equipment. On top of this, remote operator stations are required for exception handling.
  
  

These challenges highlight the need for an impartial and experienced partner to assist you in implementing autonomous horizontal transport.

Reaping the benefits of autonomous horizontal transport

As the work environment is complex, with different interests, for example, container terminals, developers, legislators, clients and employees, this requires a tailored approach. To reap the benefits of autonomous transport, it is crucial to have an impartial party with the relevant experience that can mediate between potential suppliers.

Think about specific needs, like for example:

1. An overview of the choices and changes possible in terminal layouting and interaction with equipment types vis-à-vis the resulting required ODD for autonomous vehicles and how this can be optimised.
2. Conducting interviews with autonomous horizontal transport suppliers.
3. Providing tender support and evaluation of bids for this type of autonomous transport.
4. Assessing the financial business case.

This will allow you to put things in a wider perspective: global instead of only one terminal, more suppliers instead of just one, and a long-term/strategic view looking at forecasted growth and terminal development.

A summary of this article was originally published in Port Strategy on 13 August 2025.