At a joint press conference held on November 20th by the Logistics Consortium baton, Ryu Takada, Director of the Logistics Policy Division of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's Logistics and Automobile Bureau, gave a guest speech. He expressed his recognition that baton's cross-company "driver exchange relay transport" system, which will be implemented from February next year, is an effective initiative that will lead to the construction of a sustainable logistics system. He also revealed that the government is considering including provisions in the next comprehensive logistics policy outline, which is currently being formulated, to further promote the widespread adoption and expansion of relay transport, in order to advance standardization and digital transformation, which are prerequisites for its implementation.
<Section Chief Takada giving a speech>
Section Chief Takada explained the approach to formulating the next comprehensive plan, stating, "As one of the perspectives for considering new approaches to logistics innovation in response to the shortage of logistics personnel, we will also position within the plan that we will further promote and expand the relay transport that baton is working on, as well as the standardization of logistics and DX that are prerequisites for it."
Furthermore, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism announced that it has selected baton's relay transport project as part of its "Logistics Innovation Implementation Support Project," which utilizes the supplementary budget for fiscal year 2024 to promote DX and innovation in the domestic logistics sector, by creating examples of innovative initiatives and supporting their social implementation. The ministry stated that "they are proceeding with verification toward social implementation while simultaneously organizing the systems, technologies, and operations," and regarding the relay transport method using driver exchange, which is considered to have high hurdles, it said, "I understand that they are proceeding with organizing the issues in a way that does not compromise safety or efficiency, while on the premise of complying with laws and regulations regarding truck operation. I hope that a new form of sustainable transportation will emerge from such challenges."
At the presentation, Professor Katsuhiro Nishinari of the Graduate School of Engineering, the University of Tokyo, who serves as an advisor to baton, gave a lecture on the current state and challenges of the logistics industry.
<Professor Nishinari>
Professor Nishinari explained that the application of the 960-hour limit on overtime work, which is one of the causes of the 2024 logistics problem, "is only the beginning of the logistics crisis. We need to consider the logistics industry with a view to even stricter regulations, such as the application of the 720-hour limit, which is a general rule applied to many industries. We are still in the intermediate stage." Regarding the current situation where relay transport is not progressing, he pointed out that the fact that each company's procedures and transport equipment have developed independently is hindering joint delivery, and that the delay in standardization is one of the causes.
Furthermore, regarding initiatives utilizing subsidies, he stated that "many cases are merely 'try-it-out' while subsidies are available, and few projects have been properly 'systematized.' The inherent risks 'dissolve' into the subsidies and remain unknown," and expressed the view that it is necessary to consider how to create a "profitable system."
Furthermore, Baton stated, "They are thoroughly discussing how to solve the issues by involving neutral players such as Tokio Marine, and as an advisor, I could see that they are serious about it. The deliverables can be spread to any company and will be useful," expressing strong expectations.
