Thousands of packages thanks to online shopping, but no truck drivers. Japan wants to test a solution to this problem with a conveyor belt between Osaka and Tokyo.
What kind of treadmill is this? In effect, you can imagine a 500-kilometer-long conveyor belt on or under a highway that spans the distance between Tokyo and Osaka. On top of that, there are lashed-down packages or anchored carts with packages stacked up inside. In effect, this is comparable to systems commonly found in factories, but on a scale never seen before.
Why is this necessary? According to Japannews, the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism sees the conveyor belt concept as a viable solution to a problem that is also familiar to us in Germany: more and more packages due to online trading, but a lack of staff to transport them.
According to data from Japannews, the number of packages has more than doubled in the past 30 years. By 2030, it is expected that around a third of the shipments will no longer be able to be delivered.
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Conveyor belt instead of 25,000 trucks per day
What exactly should such a conveyor belt look like? Since February of this year, a committee of experts has developed a concept that involves installing a conveyor belt either underneath or directly on an existing highway. This is intended to transport packages or transport trolleys of various sizes between the cities of Osaka and Tokyo fully automatically. Each pallet can carry around one ton of various types of cargo.
How much could be transported here? It is estimated that approximately 25,000 trucks could be replaced per day.
Is the treadmill really being built? It has not yet been decided whether such a conveyor belt will be built underground or above ground, but the plan seems to be generally met with approval by decision-makers.
The biggest hurdle would be the costs. The underground variant would cost around 22 billion euros for the entire route. Older figures from similar studies, which Japannews refers to, put the necessary investment for an above-ground facility at around 10 billion in total, if we conservatively take into account inflation since then.
[Das Projekt] will not only address the logistics crisis but also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. […] We would like to continue discussions on this matter expeditiously.
Tetsuo Saito, Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
Completion is expected in 2034. The ministry is currently looking for ways to involve private investors.
With every order that such projects make necessary, there is also the chance that you will not receive what you ordered, or even more. If the latter happens to you and you don’t know what to do, we can recommend the following article: Amazon delivers more than you ordered, what should you do? We asked a lawyer.