44
distance (kilometers), as shown in Fig. 3.7, private cargo vehicles emit about six
times more CO 2 than commercial cargo vehicles. Furthermore, the commercial
cargo vehicles emit more than five times as much CO 2 as ships and eight times as
much CO 2 as railways. Since the amount of CO 2 emissions is smaller with ships
than with cargo vehicles, and smaller with railways than with ships, switching from
truck transport to ships or railways can contribute to reducing environmental impact.
Changing the means of transportation in this way is called a modal shift. The
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport has promoted a modal shift for more
than 10 years, but it has not progressed sufficiently. The reason is that truck transport is convenient. You can go anywhere at any time on a truck, and you can deliver
in small quantities. On the other hand, ships and railways have low degree of
freedom in operation routes and time schedules, and when picking up cargoes and
delivering them to their final destinations, trucks are eventually used in combination. If the shift is not done on a reasonable scale, cost benefits are hard to come by.
However, the logistics industry is currently faced with the big problem of shortage of truck drivers. The aging of drivers is progressing, but there are no young
volunteers because of the severe labor environment such as long working hours and
low wages. Even if salaries and conditions are slightly improved, there are reportedly no responses to job advertisements. On the contrary, the number of logistics/
home delivery is increasing due to such developments as the rise of online shopping.
If the load per driver increases, it is clear that the risk of delays in delivery and traffic accidents will increase, but in the long term there is no prospect of resolving the
shortage of manpower. The logistics industry is now being forced to build a new
business model.
Fig. 3.7 Amount of CO 2 emissions per transport volume (cargo). (Source: Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism)
3 Technology to Support Low-Carbon Society (Using Energy)
distance (kilometers), as shown in Fig. 3.7, private cargo vehicles emit about six
times more CO 2 than commercial cargo vehicles. Furthermore, the commercial
cargo vehicles emit more than five times as much CO 2 as ships and eight times as
much CO 2 as railways. Since the amount of CO 2 emissions is smaller with ships
than with cargo vehicles, and smaller with railways than with ships, switching from
truck transport to ships or railways can contribute to reducing environmental impact.
Changing the means of transportation in this way is called a modal shift. The
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport has promoted a modal shift for more
than 10 years, but it has not progressed sufficiently. The reason is that truck transport is convenient. You can go anywhere at any time on a truck, and you can deliver
in small quantities. On the other hand, ships and railways have low degree of
freedom in operation routes and time schedules, and when picking up cargoes and
delivering them to their final destinations, trucks are eventually used in combination. If the shift is not done on a reasonable scale, cost benefits are hard to come by.
However, the logistics industry is currently faced with the big problem of shortage of truck drivers. The aging of drivers is progressing, but there are no young
volunteers because of the severe labor environment such as long working hours and
low wages. Even if salaries and conditions are slightly improved, there are reportedly no responses to job advertisements. On the contrary, the number of logistics/
home delivery is increasing due to such developments as the rise of online shopping.
If the load per driver increases, it is clear that the risk of delays in delivery and traffic accidents will increase, but in the long term there is no prospect of resolving the
shortage of manpower. The logistics industry is now being forced to build a new
business model.
Fig. 3.7 Amount of CO 2 emissions per transport volume (cargo). (Source: Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism)
3 Technology to Support Low-Carbon Society (Using Energy)