Autonomous yard trucks hit North America: ISEE and Holman’s $1bn fleet plan
ISEE and Holman partner to deploy thousands of autonomous yard trucks across North America by 2028, offering leasing.
Under the agreement, customers can deploy ISEE’s autonomy on trucks they already own, lease vehicles from Holman, or purchase autonomous-ready trucks directly from ISEE. Holman, which is also an investor in ISEE, will handle the retrofitting of existing trucks with ISEE’s autonomy kit, a process that includes hardware installation, software integration and deployment to customer sites.
Debbie Yu, president and co-founder of ISEE, highlighted the logistical challenges customers face when automating their fleets. “First of all, you have to figure out where to get the truck. Either buy it, or lease it, or rent it,” she told FreightWaves. “Then we have to retrofit the truck with our autonomy kit, deploy to the customer site, do the maintenance, and run the yard.” Yu emphasised that most of these steps, such as sourcing, retrofitting and maintenance, fall outside ISEE’s core expertise in software development.
Holman’s nationwide network of shops and technicians, built through years of truck retrofitting and leasing, fills this gap.
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“First of all, you have to figure out where to get the truck. Either buy it, or lease it, or rent it. Then we have to retrofit the truck with our autonomy kit, deploy to the customer site, do the maintenance, and run the yard.”
Debbie Yu·President and co-founder of ISEE
From prototypes to full-scale deployment: autonomous yard trucks
ISEE’s partnership with Holman marks a shift from pilot projects to large-scale commercial deployment. The company, which has been testing prototypes and running small-scale pilots, is now targeting F100 customers looking to automate thousands of yard trucks over the next two years.
Holman’s role extends beyond retrofitting. The company’s Holman Robotics unit, launched in December 2025, specialises in financing and lifecycle management for robotic equipment. Joe Foster, Holman’s vice president of robotics, said the partnership with ISEE creates a “practical solution” for customers.
“By combining Holman’s robot fleet leasing and management infrastructure with ISEE’s autonomous technology, we can provide customers with a practical solution covering the full vehicle lifecycle,” Foster said in a statement. This includes everything from leasing and retrofitting to maintenance and operational support, ensuring customers can scale their autonomous fleets without managing the complexities of hardware and logistics.
“By combining Holman’s robot fleet leasing and management infrastructure with ISEE’s autonomous technology, we can provide customers with a practical solution covering the full vehicle lifecycle.”
Joe Foster·Vice President of Robotics at Holman
Retrofits and factory-built trucks: a dual approach
The partnership offers two pathways for customers to adopt autonomous yard trucks. The first involves retrofitting existing trucks with ISEE’s autonomy kit, allowing operators to automate vehicles already in service. This approach enables faster deployment, as customers can start automating their fleets without waiting for new truck orders. The second pathway involves factory-built autonomous trucks, which will be available through ISEE’s collaboration with terminal tractor manufacturer TICO starting in 2027.
Yu explained that retrofitting is particularly attractive for operators with yard trucks already working in customer yards. “Not just retrofitting. We also need to do factory-built units through the TICO collaboration, starting from 2027,” she said. The factory-built trucks will be available in diesel, alternative-fuel and electric models, catering to a wide range of customer needs. ISEE will continue working with other yard truck OEMs to expand its offerings, ensuring flexibility for customers with different fleet requirements.
Demand for autonomous yard trucks is rising as industries like manufacturing, data centres and infrastructure expand in the United States. Yu noted that enterprise customers from “sectors we never imagined before” are now exploring automation to improve efficiency and reduce operational costs. The partnership with Holman positions ISEE to meet this growing demand, offering a scalable solution that covers every stage of the autonomous truck lifecycle, from sourcing and retrofitting to maintenance and operations.
The timing of the partnership aligns with broader trends in the logistics and port industries, where automation is increasingly seen as a solution to labour shortages and rising operational costs. With thousands of autonomous yard trucks set for deployment over the next two years, ISEE and Holman are poised to play a key role in shaping the future of port and logistics automation in North America.
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