Japan Post Co. and Seino Transportation Co. said Thursday they will start sharing trucks for long-distance parcel deliveries from around fiscal 2025, in response to a decrease in transportation capacity fueled by an overtime cap for drivers.
The postal service company and the major delivery firm are calling on others in the transport and logistics industry to join their initiative in a bid to ease the impact of the logistics shortfall resulting from the overtime restrictions, referred to as the "2024 problem."
Japan Post and Seino said that by sharing trucks for a considerable part of their long-distance deliveries, they aim to boost transportation efficiency and lower the negative environmental impact caused by trucks.
According to their plan, trucks will collect both firms' parcels from loading stations in the same areas and then deliver them to each company's respective base near their delivery destinations.
Specific routes for cargo sharing will be determined later, taking into account the distances between loading bases and the availability of trucks, they said.
"We would like to provide a platform anyone can join and spread the sector-wise cooperation," Japan Post President Tetsuya Senda said at a press conference.
Already facing an acute shortage of drivers and other workers due to an aging workforce, Japan introduced an overtime limit of 960 hours per year for truck and other delivery drivers in April to improve working conditions.
The two firms are looking into the possibility of cooperating on short-distance deliveries from loading bases to residences and offices, as well as co-utilizing bases and driver training.
