The Japanese media is calling it “the 2024 problem”. Thanks to a government initiative to cap workers’ overtime, Japan’s cargo industry is suffering from a lack of truck drivers and struggling to maintain business as usual. As online shopping continues to grow in popularity, the demand for cargo is only increasing. In response, Japan’s transport ministry came up with an outside-the-box solution. Could their newly-designed conveyor belt road be the fix the cargo industry needs?
The “autoflow road” design sees cargo containers travel autonomously up and down the middle of a motorway. While the design cuts the work of 25,000 truck drivers per day, humans will still be needed for last-mile deliveries. The first planned road will travel 515 kilometres between Tokyo and Osaka. While test runs are scheduled for 2027, the road will likely begin delivering cargo in the 2030s.
The autoflow road is powered by electricity
The autoflow road doesn’t just reduce the demand for truck drivers. As an electricity-powered solution, it also intends to reduce the cargo industry’s environmental impact.
Cargo Emissions
Cargo and freight account for roughly eight percent of global carbon emissions; with e-commerce projected to grow by 39 percent from 2023 until 2027, the emissions from our online shopping habits show no sign of slowing.
So far, so good. But with all the inevitable construction emissions and materials required to bring the $25 billion project to life, is the project more about positioning Japan as an innovator than helping the planet? And will the carbon savings outweigh the impact of construction? RESET spoke to Professor David Cebon, Director of the Centre for Sustainable Road Freight and Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Cambridge.
“You can’t avoid the fact that you have to double handle the freight,” Cebon began. He pointed out that the first and last-mile deliveries would require a truck, “which is expensive at the scale of a 300-mile [or 500-kilometre] journey. With a 2000-mile [or 3200-kilometre] journey, you can afford some first and last-mile transport.” He explained that “logistics is a variable and necessarily flexible system. Not all freight starts in City A and ends in City B.” While “there’s no reason why it shouldn’t work,” the autoflow road ultimately “has all the same problems as rail freight.” Namely, a lack of destination flexibility and the need to use a truck for first and last-mile journeys.
There are alternative low-emission cargo solutions
There are more ways to electrify the freight industry than build a whole new road, Cebon told us. While electricity-powered trucks usually require large batteries—which reduce space for cargo and require regular charging—another option is to bring the electricity to the vehicles. This is done via overhead contact lines which power trucks as they drive along motorways. Alternatively, expanding existing electric rail freight systems would require less new infrastructure and be a smarter investment for the planet. “If you’ve already got a road; if there’s already a train line between two cities, it doesn’t make sense to build an autoflow road in parallel,” Cebon concluded.
Other emission-reducing solutions include utilising empty space on passenger trains for cargo (also known as hitch-hiking for cargo) or carrying out last-mile deliveries with cargo bikes instead of trucks.
Meanwhile, in Japan, the transport ministry is counting on the conveyor belt design of its autoflow road to position itself as an innovator while reducing its reliance on workers. With transport capacity set to decrease by 34 percent by 2030, the government is hoping its autoflow road will be the solution the “2024 problem” desperately needs.
