Logistics

The logistics environment has entered an era in which logistic providers and shipping companies choose the cargo owners and the type of cargo. To achieve stable transportation (sustainable logistics), we must be selected by logistics providers and shipping companies.

One of the concerns regarding stable transportation is the shortage of human resources for logistics, and the labor environment, including long working hours, has been pointed out as a factor underlying this shortage. In order to regulate working hours, as part of our work style reforms, we began applying an upper limit on truck driving working hours which started in April 2024. While we expect this to improve the working environment, there are serious problems that the shortage of drivers will increase due to the decrease in transport volume (the 2024 issues). In addition, improving logistics efficiency is an urgent challenge as we work to address this lack of human resources for logistics and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. The Mitsui Chemicals Group, together with our logistics partners, is working beyond the boundaries of the company to improve the working environment and build efficient transportation schemes to ensure logistics human resources and logistics safety, and to reduce GHG emissions.

The Mitsui Chemicals Group is working to improve the work environment for truck drivers and ultimately to reduce the workload for logistics providers, by reducing the standby time for truck drivers while waiting for loading. The Ichihara, Osaka, and Iwakuni-Ohtake Works have introduced an advance booking system for loading operations, which has reduced the need for drivers to wait early in the morning to get their turn. The Group is currently promoting further improvements to the work environment of truck drivers, including updating the booking system to cover all loading operations.

Mitsui Chemicals announced its support for the sustainable logistics initiative proposed by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and submitted a declaration of its relevant independent activities. The sustainable logistics initiative aims to address the growing driver shortage and ensure logistics stability by improving truck transportation productivity and logistics efficiency, and by creating a comfortable working environment for women and drivers over 60 years old. The table below describes the initiatives laid out in Mitsui Chemicals’ declaration of its independent activities.

The Mitsui Chemicals Group has been promoting modal shifts, starting with a joint effort by five companies including Mitsui Chemicals, which was certified by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism as a “Modal Shift Promotion Project” in fiscal 2017.

In 2019, we made a modal shift in the transportation of products using 500-kg flexible container bag from the Ichihara area to the Chugoku area from trucks to marine transportation by coastal vessels. For this purpose, a special 20-foot-high cube container (the utility model right obtained) and a special rack (the design right obtained) have been manufactured to create two-tiered flexible container bag, which could previously only be placed flat, thereby improving loading efficiency, further reducing CO₂ emissions, and saving driver labor. We received the Award for Eco-Friendly Logistics Technology at 20th Logistics Environment Award of the Japan Association for Logistics and Transport. As a result of the development of this initiative, we are converting to coastal vessels in the Kyushu area from March 2021.

In 2021, we collaborated with Asahi Kasei Corporation on a modal shift from trucks to ships for long-distance transportation between Chiba and Yamaguchi/Hiroshima. In this initiative, container round use was also realized by using ocean container vessels and liner vessels, with Mitsui Chemicals using the outbound vessels and Asahi Kasei using the inbound vessels. This has contributed to a roughly 40% reduction in annual CO₂ emissions and contributed significantly to solving the driver shortage issue. Furthermore, by using side-end open containers, cargo handling work has been reduced by approximately 80% compared to conventional containers. This has resulted in a dramatic improvement in work efficiency. These efforts have been recognized with a Special Prize in the 22nd Logistics Environment Award organized by the Japan Association for Logistics and Transport.

In 2022, in collaboration with a home appliance manufacturer from a different industry (hereinafter referred to as “Company A”), we have started adopting container round use by loading Company A’s products on the return trip of our dedicated bulk containers managed by our logistics provider, Sankyu Co. This made it possible for Mitsui Chemicals to avoid the return of empty containers between Gunma and Iwakuni, and for Company A to achieve a modal shift between Funabashi and Iwakuni out of the overland transportation between Gunma and Fukuoka. This is expected to improve loading and reduce CO₂ emissions.

The Mitsui Chemicals Group aims to build a robust supply chain that can flexibly respond to changes in the logistics environment by collaborating with other companies to standardize and streamline the logistics of chemicals.

Since 2016, Mitsui Chemicals has been engaged in joint logistics with neighboring companies in the Keiyo area. Previously, the transportation was mixed with general merchandise and had to go through multiple transshipment bases. However, by using a logistics provider specializing in chemicals, we have achieved more specialized and efficient transportation by consolidating trunk line transportation from pickup to delivery bases and consolidating delivery from the delivery bases to each company’s customers. This contributes to solving the driver shortage issue and reducing CO₂ emissions and quality problems such as damage. This system started with shipments destined for the Tohoku areas and has expanded to destinations in the Hokuriku and Koshinetsu areas. To boost the shared logistics system, activities will be developed together with the logistics providers and shippers who are participating in the system. There are different logistics collaboration schemes in both goods owners and chemical companies. We are currently working to establish a combined transportation system. This system should be able to replace or supplement some parts of the national transportation networks, through which we plan to create a stable, small-lot transportation scheme for chemicals.

The Mitsui Chemicals is working with other companies in its industry to solve the extremely important issue of insufficient logistics transportation and storage capacity in the logistics of the chemical industry.
In fiscal 2022, we have launched a joint study with the Mitsubishi Chemical Group^* to standardize and optimize the chemical logistics. In addition to joint transportation and mutual utilization of transportation networks, we will also use DX technology to study transportation routes and matching for the expansion of joint logistics projects.