For many regions enduring stagnant air cargo growth, the cure-all has often come in the form of e-commerce – the rising tide of international e-commerce that tends to lift all boats and inject life into moribund trade lanes. Japan’s proximity to China, one of the fastest-growing online retail markets in the world, may make e-commerce seem like a natural fit for the island nations. But the jury is still out about whether Japanese forwarders and carriers will truly benefit.
For one, the bulk of this traffic goes by ocean vessel. Transit times from Tokyo to Shanghai by ship are one or two days, so airfreight does not offer a significant advantage, said Tomoyasu Fukuyama, president of Japan-based forwarder Logi-Rex. Volumes have been growing fast, he said, but from a small base.
To date, e-commerce flows have not been substantial enough to reverse Japan’s shrinking foreign trade. “Export and import are both still very weak,” Fukuyama said. They are down about 6 to 8 percent from a year earlier, he added.
Still, past performance has not stopped Logi-Rex from trying. The main e-commerce focus for the forwarder is in flows to and from China. Since November, Logi-Rex has been working with Japan Post, which has been selling directly to consumers in China via its Chinese home page. Logi-Rex consolidates shipments and moves them to China.
E-commerce with China is also expected to play a crucial role in ANA Cargo’s strategy. Rather than just look to postal agencies, courier firms and forwarder consolidations to capture this traffic, ANA management said it intends to utilize the company’s Overseas Courier Service subsidiary to attract e-commerce flows and feed them to its flights.
Back to Japan home page