Unicharm, KRS, and T2 Commence Autonomous Truck Main Line Transport Trial for Pet Products
Three companies, Unicharm, KRS, and T2, have started a Level 2 autonomous truck transport trial between Kanto and Kansai for pet products to address the 2024 logistics problem.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 2, 2026 at 20:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 2, 2026 at 14:00
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 21, 2026 at 06:16 (448h 16m after Collected)
Unicharm Products Co., Ltd., a production subsidiary of Unicharm Corporation (Representative Director, President & CEO: Takahisa Takahara, hereafter 'Unicharm'), K.R.S. Corporation (Representative Director & President: Jinichi Tomita, hereafter 'KRS'), and T2 Inc. (Representative Director & CEO: Masatomo Kumabe, hereafter 'T2') began a demonstration experiment of main line transport using autonomous trucks for Unicharm's pet products on a section of the expressway between Kanto and Kansai on April 2, 2026.
### Background of the Demonstration Experiment
In the logistics industry, the shortage of drivers triggered by the '2024 problem' is becoming more severe, making the construction of a sustainable logistics network an urgent task. Unicharm and KRS have been striving for efficiency through 'optimization of hubs' and 'promotion of pallet transport.' Aiming to maintain further stable supply, they have partnered with T2, which aims to launch a 'Level 4 (a state where the system performs all driving tasks under specific conditions)' autonomous truck main line transport service in FY2027. They will conduct a total of 4 transport demonstrations using 'Level 2 (high-performance autonomous driving under specific conditions under driver monitoring)' autonomous trucks between April 2 and November 2026.
### Details of the Demonstration Experiment
In this demonstration, using T2's Level 2 autonomous truck, Unicharm's pet products will be transported over an approximately 500km route connecting Unicharm Products' Kanto Logistics Center (Saitama Prefecture) and Kansai Logistics Center (Hyogo Prefecture). Of this, the roughly 430km section from the Tomei Expressway Atsugi IC to the Meishin Expressway Suita JCT will be driven using Level 2 autonomous driving to verify the effectiveness and operational feasibility of main line transport using autonomous trucks. Note that the driver will manually operate the vehicle in areas requiring safety assurance, such as toll booths.
### Background of the Demonstration Experiment
In the logistics industry, the shortage of drivers triggered by the '2024 problem' is becoming more severe, making the construction of a sustainable logistics network an urgent task. Unicharm and KRS have been striving for efficiency through 'optimization of hubs' and 'promotion of pallet transport.' Aiming to maintain further stable supply, they have partnered with T2, which aims to launch a 'Level 4 (a state where the system performs all driving tasks under specific conditions)' autonomous truck main line transport service in FY2027. They will conduct a total of 4 transport demonstrations using 'Level 2 (high-performance autonomous driving under specific conditions under driver monitoring)' autonomous trucks between April 2 and November 2026.
### Details of the Demonstration Experiment
In this demonstration, using T2's Level 2 autonomous truck, Unicharm's pet products will be transported over an approximately 500km route connecting Unicharm Products' Kanto Logistics Center (Saitama Prefecture) and Kansai Logistics Center (Hyogo Prefecture). Of this, the roughly 430km section from the Tomei Expressway Atsugi IC to the Meishin Expressway Suita JCT will be driven using Level 2 autonomous driving to verify the effectiveness and operational feasibility of main line transport using autonomous trucks. Note that the driver will manually operate the vehicle in areas requiring safety assurance, such as toll booths.