Nestle Japan Shifts from Trucks to Trains

Feb 22, 2024 | News On Japan

TOKYO - A ceremony marking the start of collaboration between JR Freight, which handles cargo transportation by rail, and Nestle Japan, a food manufacturer dealing with products like coffee, was held on Wednesday afternoon, to mark the start of regular mid-distance transportation from Nestle's factory in Shimada City, Shizuoka Prefecture to Osaka City in February, a first for Japan's food and beverage industry.

Reporter Maho Yamamoto: "This means that 4,600 bottles of coffee can be transported at once in this single container."

According to Nestlé Japan, rail transportation will carry 40 containers, or 200 tons of products per day, leading to a reduction of 4,000 trucks annually.

The backdrop to this is the so-called "2024 problem" in logistics. From April this year, long working hours for truck drivers will be regulated, and concerns about labor shortages and logistics bottlenecks are growing.

The key to solving this problem is the "modal shift," where the focus is on switching from truck to rail transportation.

Kenji Ito from Nestlé Japan: "Recently, we have had some difficulties securing trucks for mid-distance transportation. In that sense, we expect that this shift to rail will give us a bit more leeway in terms of securing transportation."

In addition to the 2024 problem, the modal shift is expected to contribute to the reduction of CO2 emissions. It remains to be seen how this will impact our daily lives.

Source: YOMIURI

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