Increasing demand for masks Manufacturers whose shipping volume is five times larger than usual are also on March 3 at 17:53

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As the demand for masks grows, daily necessities manufacturers are responding by increasing the mask shipments by a factor of five more than usual.

Livingware maker Iris Ohyama imports masks produced at its own factories in Dalian and Suzhou, China to Japan and ships them to drug stores and other stores.

In order to respond to the growing demand for masks due to the spread of the new coronavirus, local factories operate around the clock.

At a logistics base in Fukaya, Saitama Prefecture, masks of 40 pieces per box received from China were loaded on the full bed of trucks shipped to the Tokyo metropolitan area.

The manufacturer ships five times as much as usual, but more orders are coming in every day, so it can't handle all orders.

"I'm a 24-hour manufacturer, but the demand is growing even higher. I can quickly deliver masks to people who need them," said Kyosuke Okamura, sub-leader of Iris Ohyama Public Relations Office. I would like to make efforts to improve the production and supply systems in this way. "

At the store, the shortage of masks continues

On the other hand, masks are still scarce in drugstores.

Of these, at the drugstore stores in Chuo-ku, Tokyo, masks arrive once or twice a week, even if you order a lot, and only a few sets of masks will fit in immediately, It means that it will be sold out.

This has been the case since the beginning of last month.

On the 3rd, there was no arrival of masks, and a notice was posted at the entrance of the store, but there were no signs of customers checking the sales floor in search of the masks.

A local housewife who went shopping said, "The amount of stockpiled masks at home has been reduced to about half of the original amount. I feel that there is no mask at the sales floor forever."

Is current demand several times the average year?

The continued shortage of masks is due to the fact that demand has far exceeded domestic supply and import supply.

According to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, domestic mask manufacturers are increasing their production 24 hours a day, producing 100 million pieces, which is three times the normal rate per week.

When combined with imports from China and other countries, the current supply is more than 110 million units per week and about 450 million units per month.

On the other hand, at this time, sales of masks are the largest due to hay fever etc., and the demand is said to be about 100 million per week in the usual year, but the number of people using masks has increased significantly due to the influence of the new coronavirus, Today's demand is expected to be several times higher.

It has also been pointed out that there is a tendency to buy masks for resale purposes, which is increasing the sense of shortage.

Masks are shipped preferentially from medical institutions and nursing care facilities, and even if they are delivered to supermarkets and drug stores, the number of masks per store is limited and sold out quickly.

The government has decided to subsidize three manufacturers that will increase their production facilities in the country to increase the supply of masks, and is calling on companies from different industries to start production.

It is also expected that imports from China, which had been temporarily stagnant, will increase.

The government plans to increase the supply of masks to 600 million units per month by the end of this month, aiming to eliminate shortages.