August 2024

Cranking out cargo

By Björn Carstens

Tens of thousands of trucks are dispatched to travel the highways for shipping goods from A to B in countries all over the world – including Japan. However, a project there is pursuing the integration of an automated alternative. Can conveyor belts replace trucks? Here’s a mix of facts and quotes.

#Innovation #Truck & Bus

500
kilometers (310 miles): That’s roughly the planned length of the “Autoflow-Road” conveyor belt with which the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism wants to connect the cities of Tokyo and Osaka. The system is supposed to operate alongside freeways and expressways or in underground tunnels. It’s designed to carry containers or standardized pallets. 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The world’s longest conveyor belt in existence has been traversing a 100-kilometer (62-mile) distance in the desert connecting a mine in the Western Sahara with a port on the Atlantic coast.
25,000
trucks in terms of cargo volume could be replaced by the conveyor belt per day. On the one hand, the project is intended to decongest freeway traffic and on the other to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
660,000
vehicle operators were available in Japan in 2020. The Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has projected that number to drop to 480,000 by 2030. That’s going to mean 27 percent fewer drivers to haul the same amount of goods. The conveyor belt system could close part of that gap. 1.4 billion metric tons (1.5 billion short tons) of goods are transported on Japanese roads per year.
2034
is the year in which the conveyor belt is scheduled to be put into service, according to the planning authority. Various construction companies in Japan estimate the costs for a ten-kilometer (6.2-mile) section – depending on the topography – to amount to between 40 and 460 million euros. That would mean total costs of up to 21.5 billion euros. To cover the huge costs, logistics services providers wanting to use the conveyor belt are supposed to ensure part of the funding.

Expert opinions on the container conveyor belt

“Commodity flows could be accelerated”

“From a technical perspective, the integration of a 500-kilometer (310-mile) conveyor belt for containers alongside a freeway does not pose a problem. A system like that, which could connect ports with surrounding industrial and commercial areas, not only makes logistic sense but also offers advantages from an energy point of view. Renewable energies could power the conveyor belt, so reducing CO2 emissions and emphasizing the sustainability of the project. In addition, the integration of smart logistics technologies could enhance the efficiency of the system to accelerate commodity flows, and facilitating monitoring and maintenance. In view of the increasing skills shortage, an automated conveyor belt system is another advantage in relation to covering the growing demand for container transportation.

But: A project like that calls for an in-depth examination of the local topography from source to sink. It’s crucial to analyze the exact route to be bridged or tunneled through and to consider the planned transportation volume.

For Germany, I feel that a conveyor belt system like that makes little sense. Our nationwide transportation network both on road and rail is already well-developed and efficient. An additional system would not be feasible from an economic perspective. It’s important to recognize that not every successful system in one country can automatically be transferred to other countries.

Another important item is funding. An infrastructure project of that kind calls for considerable capital expenditures and the question of funding must play a central part right from the get-go.”

“More automation for more safety”

“A stationary transportation system in densely populated and economically strong regions like Japan offers great potential. It could considerably increase transportation output due to close sequencing of containers, circumvention of traffic jams, and the utilization of underground or previously unused transportation routes plus 24/7 service. That system would be sustainable by avoiding emissions that otherwise would be caused by trucks. It should probably be powered by electricity based on an eco-friendly and CO2-neutral energy source.

In addition, an automated system could enhance safety by minimizing accidents involving people and designing the system for greater resilience against weather and environmental influences.

For Schaeffler, that could offer huge potential. Hundreds of thousands of components such as rolling bearings and housing units in robust and maintenance-friendly forms might be required because numerous bearings are needed for hauling each container, depending on the number of caster wheels or wheel units per container. In addition, Schaeffler could make an important contribution through (remote) condition monitoring of the caster wheels and integrated lubrication systems. Schaeffler has already gathered extensive experience in the field of conveyor systems in the mining sector hauling bulk goods across many kilometers that could serve as a basis for new projects.”

Alternative to conveyor belts: container transportation tube mail

Even though the Hyperloop concept has been pronounced dead several times by various project management organizations it’s still a frequent talking point. Startup companies all over the world are experimenting with the vision of high-speed travel in closed pods through a gigantic vacuum tube network. The concept has long ceased to be focused strictly on passenger transportation but above all concerns cargo. The idea behind it: The logistics industry finances the Hyperloop that could display its strengths especially on long routes and for medium-sized shipments. Calculations by a Hamburg Hyperloop project in the past showed that up to 2,800 20-foot standard containers could be pushed through the tube per day.

Safety is another reason why hauling cargo is easier to organize than transporting passengers when pods are sent from A to B through long vacuum tubes at roughly 1,000 km/h (620 mph). In China, the state-owned Casic corporation successfully tested an ultra-high-speed magnetic levitation train under low-vacuum conditions in summer of 2024. The train reached a speed of 623 kilometers (387 miles) per hour on a two-kilometer (1.2-mile) distance. In Europe, the Dutch startup Hardt has developed the first functional Hyperloop system. In 2025, the first goods are planned to speed through the tube – followed by passengers.