Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has unveiled plans to construct an automated cargo transport corridor, referred to as an "auto flow road" or a "conveyor belt road," which would connect Tokyo and Osaka to address the country's shortage of truck drivers. The system is designed to utilize a 24-hour automated and unmanned transportation system to optimize logistics and cope with the rising demand for deliveries, aiming to begin test runs by 2027 or early 2028 and achieve full operations by the mid-2030s.
The initiative, spearheaded by the government to revolutionize road infrastructure, will feature big, wheeled boxes moving along a three-lane corridor within a highway, with loading processes automated using forklifts and coordination with airports, railways, and ports. The corridor concept is intended to tackle the "2024 problem," a term coined in Japanese logistics, government, and transportation sectors to describe the worsening shortage of truck drivers caused by new laws implemented to restrict driver overtime to prevent overwork, accidents, and to maintain job sustainability. The project represents a significant step towards addressing the 34% projected plunge in Japan's overall transport capacity by 2030, with trucks currently accounting for over 91% of the domestic transport capacity, according to estimates from the Japan Trucking Association.