Scientific Journals Zeszyty Naukowe of the Maritime University of Szczecin Akademii Morskiej w Szczecinie

2018, 54 (126), 95–102 ISSN 1733-8670 (Printed) Received: 24.10.2017 ISSN 2392-0378 (Online) Accepted: 11.06.2018 DOI: 10.17402/290 Published: 15.06.2018

Possibility of intermodal freight transport using ferry and RORO ships in Japan

Taro Aratani1,2, Keiji Sato1 1 National Maritime Research Institute, National Institute of Maritime, Port and Aviation, Japan Shinkawa 6-38-1, Mitaka, Tokyo, 181-0004, Japan e-mail: {aratani; sato-k}@nmri.go.jp 2 Member of Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies  corresponding author

Key words: intermodal freight transport, ferry, RORO ship, the net freight flow census, transported goods, transportation services Abstract In Japan, it is becoming difficult to move freight long distances using only trucks, owing to a shortage in truck drivers. In this context, there is a tendency to also actively utilize ferries or roll-on/roll-off (RORO) ships. Intermodal freight transport uses two or more suitable modes of transport from the origin of goods to the destination. In order to promote intermodal freight transport, it is necessary to analyze factors such as the characteristics of transported goods, transportation services and fares, and lot sizes. In this study, we focused on ferries and RORO ships in Japan, and attempted to identify cargoes transported using different modes of trans- port, based on the net freight flow census. In conclusion, high volumes of “agricultural and fishery products,” “metal machinery,” “chemical industrial,” “light industrial,” and “miscellaneous manufacturing products” can be transported using ferries or RORO ships. Specifically, there is a tendency that products are segregated by transportation mode such as a truck, or a ferry and a RORO ship.

Introduction methods increased generalized transportation costs due to the handling costs at terminals. Talley and In Japan, it is becoming difficult to deliver freight Ng (Talley & Ng, 2018) showed that a hinterland over a long distance using only trucks because transport chain choice is jointly determined by sea- of shortage of truck drivers (MLIT, 2015). Thus, ports, dry ports, intermodal carriers, importers and relay transportation using two truck drivers and exporters and shippers seek to minimize physical intermodal freight transport using rail or a coastal distribution cost. However, Zhao et al. (Zhao, Ioan- ship (a ferry or a roll-on/roll-off (RORO) ship) has nou & Dessouky, 2017) discussed that an efficient attracted attention. freight routing system can not only save transport Intermodal freight transport is the concept of time and costs of freight transport but also contrib- using two or more suitable modes from a point ute to mobility, efficiency and sustainability for the of origin to the final destination of goods (Lowe, entire urban area. 2015). Intermodal freight transport is defined by car- Stokland et al. (Stokland, Sund & Netland, 2010) go unitization, i.e. the possibility to move goods in showed that improving cooperation between the an intermodal transport unit (container, swap body actors in the intermodal logistics network was the or semi-trailer). Thus, intermodal freight transport key to developing an efficient intermodal freight requires complex arrangements (Hayashi & Nemoto, transportation network. Larranaga et al. (Larranaga, 2012). Notably, Hanssen et al. (Hanssen, Mathisen Arellana & Senna, 2017) discussed which transport & Jørgensen, 2012) showed that intermodal transport policies could encourage multimodality and more

Zeszyty Naukowe Akademii Morskiej w Szczecinie 54 (126) 95 Taro Aratani, Keiji Sato sustainable uses of available transport infrastructure; Existing conditions of freight transport their simulation results suggested that investment in in Japan increasing the reliability of intermodal alternatives was more effective than cost reductions in encourag- Trend of freight volumes in Japan ing intermodality. Taesung and Yanfeng (Taesung & Yanfeng, 2014) Figure 1 shows domestic freight volumes in developed a binomial logit model for two dominat- Japan. On the freight weight (ton) basis, trucks have ing modes (truck and rail) and found that the truck moved high volumes throughout the period 1965– was the preferred choice for short distance transpor- 2014. In terms of the freight weight-distance (ton-ki- tation and high value products. los) basis, the freight volumes moved by trucks and Intermodal freight transport using a ferry or coastal ships were similar. This means that coastal RORO ship is an easy solution to the aforemen- ships were used for moving freight long distances. tioned problem, and is an efficient method of han- Figure 2 shows the modal share of freight by coun- dling products because a truck can drive directly try. The ratio share of maritime transport in the EU, onto the ferry or RORO ship. A very important factor China and Japan exceeds 30%. Thus, coastal ships of the efficiency and competitiveness of intermodal are in an important position in these countries. Fig- transport is the structure of goods transported, and ure 3 shows the details of the freight volume ratios thus it is necessary to analyze the characteristics of in relation to transport and distance. It can be seen transported goods, transportation services and fares, that freight with longer transport distances uses and lot sizes. In this study, we focused on ferries and a comparatively lower share of trucks and a higher RORO ships in Japan, and, based on the net freight share of coastal ships. In particular, when the trans- flow census, attempted to identify cargoes transport- port distance exceeds 300 km, the mode share of the ed by different modes of transport. coastal ship increases dramatically. In order to focus

8,000,000 Coastal ship Truck Train 7,000,000

） 6,000,000 5,000,000 4,000,000

Thousand tons 3,000,000 （ 2,000,000 1,000,000 0 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 （Year） 600,000 Coastal ship Truck Train 500,000 ） 400,000

300,000

200,000 Million ton kilo ton Million （ 100,000

0 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 （Year）

Figure 1. Freight volume by weight bases and weight-distance bases (JALoT, 2016)

96 Scientific Journals of the Maritime University of Szczecin 54 (126) Possibility of intermodal freight transport using ferry and RORO ships in Japan

2.0% Russia 45.3% 48.1% 4.6% 2.6% China 51.5% 32.5% 13.3%

Japan 44.2% 50.7% 5.1%

USA 8.6% 44.6% 31.6% 15.3%

3.3% EU-28 35.8% 49.0% 11.9%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Inland waterways or Sea Truck Train Oil pipeline

Figure 2. Modal share of freight by country (Office of the EU, 2017)

≥1000km 79.6 13.4 7.0

750km≤ d <1000km 67.2 28.2 4.6

500km≤ d <750km 50.9 45.9 3.2 1.8 300km≤ d <500km 44.4 53.8 1.2 100km≤ d <300km 18.9 79.8 2.7 0.1 <100km 97.2

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Coastal ship Truck Train

Figure 3. Mode share of freight volume by distance (JALoT, 2016) on coastal ferry and RORO ship transport, this study targeted freight traveling more than 300 km. Hokkaido

Ferry and RORO ship network in Japan

In Japan, domestic ferries and RORO ships are mainly used in addition to trucks for intermodal Tohoku freight transport. According to the Long-Distance Ferry Association (The Long-Distance Ferry Asso- ciation, 2017), the number of long-distance routes of more than 300 km is 14, as shown in Figure 4, includ- Chubu Kanto ing those between Hokkaido and Kyushu. RORO Chugoku Kansai ships are also used on other routes. According to the Tokyo Naiko RORO ship guide (Nikkan-Kaijitsushin-sha, Shikoku Kyushu 2015), the number of long-distance routes of more than 300 km is 23. Japanese intermodal freight trans- port is supported by long-distance ferries and RORO ships. The analysis of this study focuses on transport between Kyushu/Shikoku and Kansai/Chubu/Kanto Figure 4. Ferry network in Japan

Zeszyty Naukowe Akademii Morskiej w Szczecinie 54 (126) 97 Taro Aratani, Keiji Sato

30km 500km 20km

Freight 20ton Freight 20ton The Net Freight 20ton Freight Flow Census Origin Freight 20ton destination Focused on shipper freight

Representative transportation mode is the mode used for the longest distance. Figure 5. Image of net freight flow where many ferries and RORO ships are in service, However, from 2006, shippers have been obliged to as indicated in red in Figure 4. Because it is impos- report to the government on such matters as “creation sible to move cargo to and from Hokkaido by truck of energy saving plan” and “regular report of energy alone, we did not include those routes in the analysis. usage” from the viewpoint of modal shift. Therefore, the use of ships increased slightly in 2010. The net freight flow census in 160,000 Japan (logistics census) 140,000

120,000 Many of statistics on freight movement in Japan 100,000 are official statistics provided by the government 80,000 (Kawasaki, 2015). The net freight flow census is one 60,000 of the surveys conducted by the Ministry of Land, (ton days)/ 3 40,000 20,000 Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT). This 0 survey is conducted once every five years via a ques- 1995 2000 2005 2010 1995 2000 2005 2010 tionnaire sent to shippers. The survey investigates (Year) (Year) Shikoku/Kyushu Kansai/Chubu/Kanto the movement of freight from the points of origin →Kansai/Chubu/Kanto →Shikoku/Kyushu to the final destinations as one-way flow. Figure Train Truck Ferry and RORO 5 shows an image of net freight flow. This census focuses on the freight data but not on transportation Figure 6. Freight volumes by mode between Kyushu/Shi- mode. In this data, the representative transportation koku and Kansai/Chubu/Kanto mode is defined as the mode used for long-distance transportation, and the freight data is aggregated by To understand the changes, we analyzed the the representative transportation mode. freight volumes on trucks and ferries and RORO ships in each segment. These volumes are shown in Trends in transport volume by transport Figures 7 and 8, respectively. mode From Kyushu to Kanto, from Kyushu to Chubu, and from Kansai to Kyusyu, the truck freight volume Figure 6 shows freight volumes by mode of both was remarkably high in 2005, as shown in Figure directions between Kyushu/Shikoku and Kansai/ 7. Conversely, in the same segments in 2005, the Chubu/Kanto. Truck freight volume showed a rap- freight volume moved by ferries and RORO ships id increase from 2000 to 2005. From 1995 to 2000, was not so high, as shown in Figure 8. This means the truck freight volume from Kansai/Chubu/Kan- that the ferry and RORO ship mode could not suc- to to Shikoku/Kyushu was higher than in the oppo- cessfully capture the freight during this period. site direction. However, since 2005 the opposite has been true (truck freight volume from Kyushu/ Possibilities for intermodal freight transport Shikoku to Kansai/Chubu/Kanto was higher). The freight volumes on ferries and RORO ships gradu- Figure 9 shows the freight volume ratio, by ally decreased from 1995 to 2005 due to high fares. freight product type, between Kyushu/Shikoku

98 Scientific Journals of the Maritime University of Szczecin 54 (126) Possibility of intermodal freight transport using ferry and RORO ships in Japan

80,000 80,000 Kansai- Kyushu 70,000 70,000

60,000 Kyushu-Kanto 60,000 ） 50,000 Kyushu-Kansai50,000

40,000 40,000

ton/3 days Chubu-Kyushu （ 30,000 Kyushu-Chubu30,000

20,000 Shikoku-20,000Kanto Kanto-Kyushu Shikoku-Chubu Kanto-Shikoku 10,000 10,000 Shikoku-Kansai Chubu-Shikoku 0 0 Kansai-Shikoku 1995 2000 2005 2010 1995 2000 2005 2010 （ ） （ ） Year Year Figure 7. Truck freight volumes by segment

20,000 20,000 Kansai-Kyushu 18,000 18,000 16,000 16,000

） 14,000 14,000 Kyushu-Chubu 12,000 12,000 Kyushu-Kansai 10,000 10,000 Chubu-Kyushu ton/3 days （ 8,000 8,000 Kyushu-Kanto 6,000 6,000 Kanto-Kyushu 4,000 Shikoku-Kanto 4,000 Shikoku-Kansai Chubu-Shikoku 2,000 2,000 Kanto-Shikoku 0 Shikoku-Chubu0 Kansai-Shikoku 1995 2000 2005 2010 1995 2000 2005 2010 （ ） （ ） Year Year Figure 8. Ferry and RORO ship freight volumes by segment

(Year) 2010

2005

2000

1995

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Agricultural and fishery products Forestry products Mineral products Metal machinery products Chemical products Light industrial products Miscellaneous manufacturing products Industrial Waste and Recycling Others Figure 9. Volume ratio by freight category (more than 300 km) and Kansai/Chubu/Kanto. Although the freight manufacturing products” all have high freight vol- volume ratios vary each year, “agricultural and umes. Therefore, it is necessary to target these five fishery,” “metal machinery,” “chemical indus- freight categories for the promotion of intermodal trial,” “light industrial,” and “miscellaneous freight transport.

Zeszyty Naukowe Akademii Morskiej w Szczecinie 54 (126) 99 Taro Aratani, Keiji Sato

Table 1. Respective products list in the net freight flow census

Product Product Product Product item Product item Product item type type type Wheat Cement Pulp Rice Fresh concrete Paper Vegetables and fruits Cement products (4) Thread (1) Light Wool Glass products Fabric Agricultural industrial and fishery Other livestock products Ceramics products Sugar products Fishery product Other ceramic products Other food industry products Cotton Heavy oil Beverages Other agricultural products Volatile oil Book, printed matter and Steel Other petroleum recorded matter Nonferrous metals (3) LNG/LPG Toys Chemical Metal products products Other petroleum products Clothes and personal Industrial machinery products Coke belongings Electric machine products Other coal products (5) Stationery (2) Miscellaneous Finished cars Chemical agents Furniture and fitments Metal manufacturing machinery Automobile parts Chemical fertilizers products Other daily necessities products Other transportation Dyes, pigments and paints Wood products machinery products Synthetic resin Rubber products Precision machinery products Animal and vegetable oils Other manufacturing Other machinery products Other chemical industrial industrial products Other machinery products products

Table 1 indicates the respective products of the (2) Metal machinery products five freight categories used in the net freight flow census. In this study, we analyzed abrupt changes in Figure 11 shows the freight volumes of “met- freight volume of segments. al machinery products” moving from Kansai to Kyushu. The truck freight volume increased in 2005 (1) Agricultural and fishery products due to increases in “steel” and “electric machine products”. However, in 2010, the truck freight vol- Figure 10 shows the freight volumes of “agricul- ume decreased slightly, and the ferry and RORO tural and fishery products” transported from Kyushu ship freight volume increased dramatically. The high to Kanto. The majority of the freight volume was freight volume was mainly “steel”. It seems that an “vegetables and fruits”. increase in the ferry and RORO ship freight volume

10,000 15,000

8,000

10,000 6,000

4,000

(ton days)/ 3 5,000 2,000 (ton days)/ 3

0 0 1995 2000 2005 2010 1995 2000 2005 2010 (Year) (Year) Train Truck Ferry and RORO Train Truck Ferry and RORO

Figure 10. Freight volumes of “agricultural and fishery Figure 11. Freight volumes of “metal machinery products” products” from Kyushu to Kanto from Kansai to Kyushu

100 Scientific Journals of the Maritime University of Szczecin 54 (126) Possibility of intermodal freight transport using ferry and RORO ships in Japan

15,000 (4) Light industrial products

10,000 Figure 14 shows the freight volumes of “light industrial products” from Kansai to Kyushu. The freight volume moved by trucks increased abruptly 5,000 in 2005 as “other food industry products” and “bev- (ton days)/ 3 erages” increased, but few of these products were

0 transported via ferries or RORO ships. Similarly, 1995 2000 2005 2010 in 2010, most of the “other food industry products” (Year) and “beverages” were transported by trucks, but not by ferries or RORO ships. From Kyushu to Kanto Train Truck Ferry and RORO and from Kyushu to Kansai, it was also the case that

Figure 12. Freight volumes of “metal machinery products” most of the “other food industry products” and “bev- from Kyushu to Chubu erages” were transported by truck. follows, with some time lag, an increase in truck 15,000 freight volume.

Furthermore, as Figure 12 shows, the truck freight 10,000 volume of “metal machinery products” between Kyushu to Chubu abruptly increased in 2010. The 5,000 high freight volume was caused by “finished cars”. (ton days)/ 3 Conversely, the “finished cars” could not be seen in the data for the ferries and RORO ships, but the 0 “automobile parts” could be seen in this data. 1995 2000 2005 2010 (Year) (3) Chemical products Train Truck Ferry and RORO

Figure 13 shows the freight volumes of “chem- Figure 14. Freight volumes of “light industrial products” ical products” from Kyushu to Kansai. The truck from Kansai to Kyushu freight volume increased abruptly in 2010 because of (5) Miscellaneous manufacturing products an increase in “other chemical industrial products” such as cosmetics, medicines, agricultural chemi- Figure 15 shows the freight volumes of “mis- cals, printing ink, etc. Conversely, “other chemical cellaneous manufacturing products” from Chubu to industrial products” were not transported by ferries Kyushu. The truck freight volume increased abrupt- or RORO ships. In addition, “chemical agents” such ly in 2010 as the volume of “furniture and fitments” as inorganic industrial chemicals, high pressure gas, increased. Similarly, from Kyushu to Chubu and etc. and “other petroleum” such as kerosene, lubri- from Kyushu to Kansai, most of the “furniture and cants, etc. were transported using trucks. fitments” were transported by truck.

8,000 50,000

40,000 6,000

30,000 4,000 20,000 (ton days)/ 3 (ton days)/ 3 2,000 10,000

0 0 1995 2000 2005 2010 1995 2000 2005 2010 (Year) (Year) Train Truck Ferry and RORO Train Truck Ferry and RORO

Figure 13. Freight volumes of “chemical products” from Figure 15. Freight volumes of “manufacturing products” Kyushu to Kansai from Chubu to Kyushu

Zeszyty Naukowe Akademii Morskiej w Szczecinie 54 (126) 101 Taro Aratani, Keiji Sato

Conclusions 2. Hayashi, K. & Nemoto, T. (2012) Intermodal freight trans- port and logistics. In: Song, D.-W. and Panayides, P.M. (Eds) We analyzed five high-volume freight categories: Maritime Logistics: A Complete Guide to Effective Shipping and Port Management. Kogan Page Ltd, pp. 45–58. “agricultural and fishery products,” “metal machin- 3. JALoT (2016) Logistics in Numbers 2016. Japan Associa- ery products,” “chemical industrial products,” “light tion for Logistics and Transport (In Japanese). industrial products,” and “miscellaneous manufac- 4. Kawasaki, S. (2015) The challenges of transportation/traffic turing products”. Based on our study, “vegetables,” statistics in Japan and directions for the future. IATSS Re- search 39, 1, pp. 1–8. “fruits,” “steel products,” “finished cars,” “other 5. Larranaga, A.M., Arellana, J. & Senna, L.A. (2017) chemical industrial products,” “other food indus- Encouraging intermodality: A stated preference analysis of try products,” and “beverages” could be shifted to freight mode choice in Rio Grande do Sul. Transportation ferries or RORO ships. However, the “industrial Research Part A: Policy and Practice 102, pp. 202–211. chemical products” and “other petroleum products” 6. Lowe, D. (2015) Intermodal Freight Transport. Routledge. 7. MLIT (2015) White paper on land, infrastructure, transport are unsuitable for this because these items are con- and tourism in Japan, 2014. Ministry of Land, Infrastruc- sidered hazardous materials for transportation pur- ture, Transport and Tourism, pp. 192–195. poses. In addition, abrupt changes in freight volumes 8. Nikkan-Kaijitsushin-sha (2015) Naiko-RORO ship Guide were only seen in the truck mode; the ferry and 2015 (In Japanese). 9. Office of the EU (2017) Statistical pocketbook 2017. EU RORO ship mode cannot cope with abrupt changes transport in Figures. Directorate-General for Mobility and in freight volume because of problems of timewise Transport (European Commission).Doi. 10.2832/041248. connections. 10. Stokland, Ø., Sund, A.B. & Netland, T. (2010) Chal- lenges in intermodal logistics networks and terminals – This study clarified the relationship between th freight items and transportation modes, and a Norwegian viewpoint. Selected Proceedings of the 12 World Conference on Transport Research, Lisbon, Portugal. explained which freight items could be shifted from 11. Taesung, H. & Yanfeng, O. (2013) Freight shipment modal trucks to ferries and RORO ships. split and its environmental impacts: An exploratory study. Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association 64, 1, Acknowledgments pp. 2–12. 12. Talley, W.K. & Ng, M. (2018) Hinterland transport chains: A behavioral examination approach. Transportation Re- This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI search Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review 113, Grant Number JP16K18325. pp. 94–98. 13. The Long-Distance Ferry Association (2017) [Online] Available from: http://www.jlc-ferry.jp/en/index.html [Ac- References cessed: October 20, 2017] 14. Zhao, Y., Ioannou, P.A. & Dessouky, M.M. (2017) A hier- 1. Hanssen, T.-E.S., Mathisen, T.A. & Jørgensen, F. (2012) archical co-simulation optimization control system for mul- Generalized transport costs in intermodal freight transport. timodal freight routing. 2017 IEEE 20th International Con- Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences 54, pp. 189– ference on Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITSC), pp. 200. 1–6.

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