Sumitomo Corporation Invests in NEXT Logistics Japan- Striving for a sustainable logistics future with double-trailer trucks and logistics optimization solutions to realize highly efficient distribution -

On August 30, 2024, Sumitomo Corporation (Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director, President and Chief Executive Officer: Shingo Ueno) invested in NEXT Logistics Japan (Head Office: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; President: Yukio Umemura; “NLJ”). NLJ aims to solve the “2024 Logistics Problem,” which includes various challenges such as a growing shortage of logistics drivers, by optimizing loading and manpower savings through logistics optimization solutions and improving transportation efficiency through the introduction of double-trailer trucks.

As the “2024 Logistics Problem” comes to the fore, it is estimated that by 2030, approximately 35% of all cargo in Japan may be undeliverable due to a shortage of drivers (*1). In response, collaboration between shippers and logistics providers is essential to create solutions for increasing transport efficiency, while improving productivity through industry-wide digital transformation (DX).

NLJ was founded in June 2018 as a venture company with the aim of solving societal challenges such as driver shortages in logistics through the application of advanced technology. In addition to Hino Motors, the largest shareholder, 25 companies, including food manufacturers, manufacturing shippers, logistics providers, and other related industries, currently support this vision and have acquired a stake in NLJ.

By leveraging double-trailer trucks and combining shipments from multiple companies, NLJ increased load efficiency from the current industry average of 38% to 63% and reduced CO₂ emissions from trucks by 24% (*2). In addition, NLJ’s logistics optimization solution “NeLOSS” calculates the optimal solution for combining carriers and cargo in around 40 seconds, a task that previously took more than two hours to complete.

Sumitomo Corporation together with Sumitomo Mitsui Auto Service (a group company), Toyota Finance Corporation, and Hino Motors, launched a commercial vehicle financing and leasing company, MOBILOTS, in 2019 to meet the diverse needs of the logistics industry. Additionally, under the "SOSiLA" brand, the company manages 20 logistics hubs across Japan. In 2020, through its corporate venture capital (CVC), Sumitomo Corporation invested in Dexterity, a US-based unicorn company that develops AI-equipped loading robots, and after a series of demonstration tests, established a joint venture to tackle challenges in the logistics sector.

Sumitomo Corporation will leverage its group network to contribute to this initiative, while working alongside cross-industry partner companies to drive structural reform in the mobility sector and strive for the realization of sustainable logistics.

(*1) : Nomura Research Institute, "Transportation and Delivery in an Era of Truck Driver Shortage" (January 2023)
(*2) : Calculated by NLJ based on transportation performance from December 2019 to March 2024