Japan’s delivery companies moved 3.86 billion packages last year, marking a sixth straight year of record numbers.
The 6.4% rise on the previous year represents the fastest growth in eight years, according to a report released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT). This included a December hike of 9.9% in deliveries on the previous year, representing 463 million parcels and packages.
The number of packages passing through Japan’s delivery companies has grown by 940 million over a decade.
A growth in popularity for online shopping in recent years has seen a demand for more frequent small-scale deliveries, with the internet retail market estimated by the MLIT to have been worth YEN13.77tn (US$120bn) in 2015 alone, a rise of 80% over five years.
The demand has seen the service stretched, with the transport ministry urging the delivery industry to bring in workplace reforms to help attract a new fleet of drivers. Truck drivers in Japan are an average age of 47.3 years old, and it is hoped to encourage more young people and women to apply for the roles.
March 10, 2017