Logistics industry "stock hoarding" exhausted Consumer behavior is a heavy burden April 2 18:48

With the spread of the new coronavirus, “stocking up” of toilet paper and frozen foods continues to occur in various places. The heavy burden of these consumer behaviors is the truck industry, which accounts for more than 90% of domestic freight transport. We interviewed what was happening on site.

Increased burden with toilet paper "hoarding"

"Suddenly, orders from manufacturers and wholesalers have doubled, and it was a mess."

This is the head of a logistics company in Tokyo that delivers toilet paper and other household paper.

The company distributes toilet paper to approximately 300 locations, including supermarkets and drugstores in the Tokyo metropolitan area.

Normally, about 50 trucks delivered 10,000 boxes of cardboard per day, but after the movement of hoarding spread, manufacturers and wholesalers were asked to double the delivery of 20,000 boxes.

The company hurriedly asked a partner company to arrange ten new trucks and managed to deal with them.

Nevertheless, the increased delivery volume put a heavy burden on drivers due to the increased frequency of loading and unloading of goods and driving time.

In addition, it took a long time to deliver, and as a result the store was not closed as planned, and in some cases the delivery was delayed by up to three days.

Drivers and trucks responsible for delivery are limited, and a sudden increase in orders has led to a vicious cycle in which products are difficult to reach.

After all, the confusion lasted for almost a month until recently.

The chief has been anxious as follows:

"If a consumer buys two or three that only needs to buy one, it will wrinkle the logistics that much. However, due to the shortage of drivers, even regular delivery is barely enough to handle urgent orders. As a result, regular delivery has been delayed. I don't care if the same confusion will occur again. "

Further burden due to request to refrain from going out of Tokyo

Just after the stocking of toilet paper has settled down, new concerns have emerged.

Last weekend, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government requested that you refrain from going out, causing some stores to buy frozen foods.

In response to this, companies in Tokyo that deliver frozen food, etc., are saying that requests for delivery of frozen food are increasing.

The owner of the company says:

"If you look at the supermarket display shelves, the frozen food corner is sometimes out of stock, like after the sale, and some people ask you to bring me as much as possible. It's like a battlefield, with a lot of fuss about loading. "

"However, the company's warehouse has a good stock of frozen food. The warehouse for one manufacturer is tightly packed. With regular delivery, the stock will not run out. Please refrain from stocking up."

The driver ...

Drivers on the scene are also raising concerns.

Drivers in their 50s who deliver groceries etc. in Tokyo say that the amount of groceries delivered to supermarkets and other stores has increased since last week, and the amount of work has increased so that it becomes difficult to secure meal times.

"I'm tired anyway. More jobs doesn't mean more people. I want you to calm down quickly."

The Tokyo Trucking Association, which is made up of about 3,200 transportation companies in Tokyo, is raising a sense of crisis.

"In the first place, the trucking industry is in the midst of a chronic shortage of drivers, and regular delivery is barely done. If the business increases, even if the driver becomes ill, the whole logistics will be I want consumers to stay calm and keep buying as they are, without being fooled by the hoax. And imagine that it will affect your life. "