Japan To Face 36% Truck Driver Shortfall In 2030

Japan will have 36% fewer truck drivers than required to meet the country's logistical demands in 2030 due to its aging population and the introduction of reforms this year aimed at curbing overwork, a recent study showed, Kyodo News reported.

The number of truck drivers is expected to fall drastically from 660,000 in fiscal 2020 to 480,000 in 2030, 36% short of the workforce required to deliver 1.40 billion tons of cargo. I Photo: Two Romero Flickr

The country's road freight volume in the fiscal year ending March 2031 is projected to be 1.40 billion tons, declining slightly from 1.43 billion tons in fiscal 2020, the Nomura Research Institute said.

Meanwhile, the number of truck drivers is expected to fall drastically from 660,000 in fiscal 2020 to 480,000 in 2030, 36% short of the workforce required to deliver 1.40 billion tons of cargo, the think tank said, Mainichi Japan also reported.

The most notably affected regions will be Tohoku in Japan's northeast and Shikoku in the west, which will both see shortfalls of 41%, followed by Kyushu in the southwest at 40%, according to the study.

"It will be necessary to improve the efficiency of logistics in order to avoid serious economic effects," said Kazuyuki Kobayashi, the institute's logistics consulting group manager.

An overtime limit of around 18 hours per week for drivers of trucks, taxis, and buses was introduced in April as Japan looks to improve working conditions in industries struggling with acute labor shortages.