The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) lately revealed the outcomes of its biennial “Standard Truck Market Trend Survey” for fiscal 2022. The survey goals to supply a chronological overview of industrial quality truck possession, buy, and utilization patterns, in addition to adjustments in transportation wants, responses, and the market atmosphere surrounding the logistics trade.
In distinction to the earlier shipper survey carried out by way of interviews in fiscal yr 2020, the 2022 survey employed questionnaires, much like the methodology utilized in 2018. The survey additionally examined extra elements, akin to driver scarcity consciousness and intentions, security consciousness, environmental consciousness, next-generation eco-friendly automobiles, expectations and issues about superior expertise, and the affect of social situations.
User Survey
The person survey carried out as a part of JAMA’s 2022 Standard Truck Market Trend Survey sheds gentle on a number of extra elements of the heavy-duty truck trade.
Business Conditions: While the non-public sector reveals indicators of restoration from the coronavirus pandemic, half of the transportation trade continues to battle. Sales and enterprise quantity stay under pre-pandemic ranges, and hovering power costs considerably affect enterprise operations.
Demand Trends: Despite a major decline in whole home transportation quantity in 2008 because of the pandemic, giant transportation corporations and companies with strong enterprise operations show a excessive intention to buy vans.
Awareness and Intention Regarding Driver Shortage: As efforts to sort out driver shortages in 2023 and 2024 progress, the trade focuses on quick points akin to elevated use of expressways and better freight charges and salaries.
Safety Awareness: The transportation trade is implementing well being administration measures, together with face-to-face roll calls, sobriety checks, and contemplating the introduction of IT-related tools. In the non-public car sector, the implementation charge of pre-boarding sobriety checks has considerably elevated.
Environmental Awareness and Next-generation Environmental Vehicles: Both customers and shippers categorical a necessity for eco-driving and fuel-efficient automobiles. However, the intention to introduce carbon-neutral hybrid automobiles stays low, with simply over 20% of the medium-sized transportation trade contemplating this feature.
Expectations and Concerns about Advanced Technology: The major expertise enabling digital transformation (DX) within the trade includes in-vehicle tools. While 40% of respondents implement eco-driving measures, barely greater than 20% have adopted corresponding methods. Shippers prioritize freight prices over superior security measures, making it difficult to go on value will increase to clients and customers.
Impact of Social Conditions: The sharp rise in power and uncooked materials costs has had a major affect on truck customers and shippers, additional complicating the trade’s panorama.
Summary of Standard Truck Market Trend Survey Results
Business Conditions
While indicators of restoration from the coronavirus pandemic are seen within the non-public sector, half of the transportation trade continues to face challenges as each gross sales and enterprise quantity stay decrease than earlier than the pandemic. The hovering power costs are additionally considerably impacting enterprise operations. In the survey outcomes, the variety of companies experiencing an enchancment in latest enterprise situations has decreased within the transportation trade because the earlier survey in 2018, whereas rising within the non-public sector because the final survey in 2020.
Compared to 2 years in the past, the cargo dealing with quantity stage has remained constant within the transportation trade, shifting from 92.0% to 93.0%. In distinction, the non-public sector has seen a rise from 92.5% to 99.2%. Although the share of “busy” truck operations within the transportation trade has elevated because the final survey, plainly enterprise situations haven’t but improved considerably.
When evaluating the present enterprise situations with these earlier than the coronavirus pandemic, round half of the transportation trade reported a lower in general gross sales, transportation service instances, transportation quantity, and truck operation frequency. These proportions are increased than these within the non-public sector, indicating that the transportation trade continues to face difficulties in recovering from the deteriorating enterprise situations attributable to the pandemic in 2020.
Global social circumstances have led to power costs reaching their highest stage previously yr since 2016. Survey outcomes present that many respondents reported elevated gas prices on account of hovering power costs, affecting their companies. Both the transportation trade and personal sector recognized rising gas prices as the commonest challenge in truck transportation.
Shippers additionally reported a major improve in the issue of rising gas prices in comparison with the earlier survey in 2018, rating slightly below the rising transportation bills.
Demand Trends
Although the overall Japanese home transportation quantity considerably decreased in 2020 because of the affect of the coronavirus pandemic, giant transportation corporations and companies with sturdy operations have excessive intentions to buy vans. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism‘s transportation-related statistics, the home cargo transportation quantity, by way of each tonnage and ton-kilometers, elevated in 2016 however has been declining since 2017. The decline was much more important in 2020 because of the pandemic. While 2021 noticed a rise, it didn’t attain pre-2019 ranges.
Trucks have adopted an identical development. The share of business vans within the ton-kilometer composition has decreased by 4 factors over the previous decade, accounting for just below 50% in 2020. The variety of new medium-duty truck gross sales started to say no in 2019, with a very low determine of 57,000 models in 2022, the bottom previously decade. Both 4-ton and 10-ton class vans noticed a lower of round 10,000 models in comparison with 2021.
The variety of medium-duty vans in operation has been step by step rising since 2012. According to the survey outcomes, though “replacement” purchases stay the first focus within the transportation trade, there was a lower in “replacement” and a rise in “additional vehicle” purchases since 2020 when in comparison with the years main as much as 2018.
Moreover, transportation corporations with numerous vans and people who have skilled an enchancment in enterprise situations have the next proportion of companies which have elevated their general truck fleet measurement previously two years and have a excessive intention to buy extra vans over the subsequent 5 years.
Note: The transportation-related statistics are from the “Automobile Transport Statistics Yearbook,” “Railway Transport Statistics Yearbook,” “Domestic Ship Transport Statistics Yearbook,” and “Air Transport Statistics Yearbook.” New car demand and new car registration numbers are expressed by way of the variety of models within the calendar yr (January to December).
Awareness and Intention Regarding Driver Shortage
Despite ongoing efforts to deal with the “2023/2024 problem,” the main target stays on quick challenges, akin to elevated use of expressways and elevating freight charges and salaries. Both transportation corporations and personal car operators proceed to rank “driver shortage” and “aging drivers” as high transportation points.
In this context, issues a few additional driver scarcity because of the modification and implementation of workstyle reform legal guidelines, elevated labor prices, and decreased driver revenue are related to the “2023/2024 problem.” In response, slightly below 40% of transportation corporations reported that they’re at present implementing measures, whereas about 45% stated they haven’t began however plan to sooner or later. Although many companies are making progress, the present efforts primarily contain rising using expressways, negotiating increased freight charges with shippers, and elevating driver salaries, specializing in addressing quick challenges reasonably than IT and car adoption.
On the shipper facet, 60% imagine that the affect of the 2023/2024 downside will end in probably the most important improve in truck transportation freight charges.
Safety Awareness
In the transportation trade, face-to-face roll calls and sobriety checks are being applied, with a give attention to well being administration, and consideration can be being given to the introduction of IT-related tools. In the non-public car sector, the implementation charge of sobriety checks earlier than boarding has considerably elevated.
In the transportation trade, “sobriety checks before boarding” are the commonest security measure towards visitors accidents, with 90% of corporations implementing them. Over 70% of corporations additionally have interaction in face-to-face roll calls and well being management-centered driver administration. In the non-public car sector, the proportion of “sobriety checks before boarding,” which grew to become obligatory in April 2022, has elevated considerably in comparison with the earlier survey.
In instances the place the necessity for security help tools was felt on account of near-miss incidents, about 40% of transportation corporations reported incidents associated to the entrance and rear, akin to “rear-end collisions” and “cutting in from the front.”
In the transportation trade, the highest issues for future introduction (or enlargement) of IT-related tools embrace roll call-related units and alcohol interlocks, suggesting that security measures specializing in driver well being and conduct administration are anticipated to be launched. While the non-public car sector has quickly superior in implementing sobriety checks, the intention to introduce (or develop) alcohol interlocks sooner or later stays low, at lower than 10%.
Environmental Awareness and Next-Generation Eco-Friendly Vehicles
Eco-driving and fuel-efficient automobiles are in demand amongst each customers and shippers. The intention to introduce hybrid automobiles as a carbon-neutral resolution stays restricted, with simply over 20% of medium-sized transportation corporations contemplating it.
Both the transportation trade and personal car customers rank “implementing and managing eco-driving” as the highest environmental measure being applied. This can be a high measure at present designated by shippers to the transportation trade. In phrases of future measures shippers wish to designate, “addressing carbon neutrality” and “designating the use of fuel-efficient vehicles” rank extremely. The intention to make use of fuel-efficient automobiles sooner or later is the best amongst each transportation corporations and personal car customers. The demand for fuel-efficient automobiles is shared by each customers and shippers.
The proportion of corporations contemplating the introduction of environmentally pleasant automobiles is simply over 20% for medium-sized hybrid automobiles within the transportation trade and 30% for personal car customers. However, about half of the transportation trade and over 60% of personal car customers are undecided on the introduction timing, indicating that whereas there’s curiosity, concrete plans for when to introduce such automobiles haven’t been made.
As for the challenges of introducing these automobiles, each transportation corporations and personal car customers rank “high vehicle prices” as a serious challenge, with round 80% expressing concern. “Limited charging facilities during operation” and “short driving range” additionally rank extremely, indicating that the present focus for the introduction of those automobiles is primarily for “medium and short-distance trunk transport.”
Expectations and Concerns for Advanced Technologies
When it involves digital transformation (DX) efforts, on-board tools is the main target. However, regardless of a 40% implementation charge of eco-driving measures, the adoption of corresponding methods stays at simply over 20%. For shippers, prioritizing “transportation costs” supersedes “advanced safety measures,” making it tough to go on value will increase to shoppers and customers.
Both the transportation trade and personal car customers see some great benefits of autonomous driving and platooning as “alleviating driver shortages” and “reducing accidents,” whereas the disadvantages embrace “system malfunctions and failures” and “drivers dozing off or losing focus.” Concerns about “rising vehicle prices and maintenance costs” have elevated for each teams because the final survey. For shippers, the first concern is the “demand for increased transportation costs due to rising vehicle prices.”
In the transportation trade, DX adoption (the introduction of IT-related tools and methods) is targeted on “drive recorders,” “ETC 2.0,” and “digital tachographs,” with 50-80% of companies using these on-board units. About 30% of corporations have applied “vehicle location verification systems” for operational administration. Regarding security driving help methods, 40% of transportation corporations are implementing and managing “eco-driving,” however solely simply over 20% have adopted an “eco-driving management system.”
Shippers point out a excessive demand for “drive recorders,” “vehicle location verification systems,” and “cargo tracking systems” to be used by transportation suppliers. Although the adoption charges for the primary two gadgets are excessive within the transportation trade, the adoption charge for “cargo tracking systems” is low.
When shippers request companies from transportation suppliers, the precedence is on “transportation costs” over “advanced safety measures.” Regarding the switch of prices associated to security measures, almost half of the shippers responded that it’s tough to go on value will increase to shoppers and customers.
Impact of Social and Economic Factors
The hovering power and uncooked materials costs have considerably affected truck customers and shippers. In the transportation trade, over 70% of respondents stated that elevated gas prices because of the rising power costs have impacted their companies previously yr. Additionally, round 30% talked about the results of semiconductor shortages attributable to the coronavirus pandemic on the supply of transportation tools, whereas just below 20% cited having to go on the elevated prices to clients by elevating transportation charges.
Around 20% of personal car customers additionally reported being affected by the scarcity of semiconductors and different pandemic-related elements on the supply of transportation tools. During the height durations of the coronavirus pandemic, manufacturing industries confronted manufacturing changes and shutdowns, resulting in a noticeable affect on the supply of transportation tools for customers general.
Moreover, the proportion of financial issues, such because the affect of hovering power costs and transferring the elevated prices, is increased amongst companies with bigger fleets of vans. Among shippers, the commonest cause for improved enterprise efficiency is “recovery from the pandemic,” however however, people who skilled worsening efficiency recognized “rising raw material prices” as probably the most important issue, outweighing the affect of the pandemic. This means that along with the coronavirus, rising costs are a major reason behind poor enterprise efficiency.
Visual: UD Trucks