The "Logistics Problem of 2024" is a concern that goods will no longer be able to be transported. The work style reform that regulates the overtime hours of drivers has begun, but what kind of changes will appear on the ground, and what will happen to the products we ordered? We followed a driver who delivers Amazon products for a day. Read the article on this video > https://news.ntv.co.jp/category/socie... ■Morning delivery of "118 items" in 6 hoursYajima (not his real name) delivers packages for Amazon, the largest online retailer. He is an individual driver who does not belong to a company and contracts with a subcontracted transportation company. One day in April. When I was shown the packages I was going to deliver, they were packed tightly into a light truck.Yajima: "118 items for the morning delivery (for half a day). (In terms of number) it's on the high side." I have to deliver these in about 6 hours. ■Subcontracted employee: "Overtime has clearly increased" The "Logistics Problem of 2024" is a concern that truck drivers' overtime hours will be regulated and goods will no longer be able to be transported. Since drivers work longer hours than other industries, a work style reform was launched in April this year that limits overtime hours to about 80 hours per month (960 hours per year). Truck drivers are broadly divided into employees of major transportation companies, employees of subcontracted companies, and individual drivers who contract with subcontracted companies. An employee of a subcontracted company who drives long-distance trucks told an interviewer, "Overtime hours have clearly increased. In March, it was about 100 hours, and in April, it was 130 to 140 hours of overtime." It is said that the burden of the restrictions on overtime by major companies is being passed on to subcontracted companies. ■ "Dangerous moments" under pressure Individual drivers such as Yajima are also subject to the work style reform. Yajima's daily salary is about 20,000 yen, and it is the same no matter how much he carries. And the packages must be delivered in a certain way. "The pin has been put in," Yajima says, pointing to the screen of his smartphone. It is an app developed by Amazon for delivery drivers. While Amazon Japan says that using the app is optional, the reality is that drivers are essentially being instructed to do so. Yajima: "When I open the app (in the morning), it's the first time I see the number of parcels and the route. There are so many, what should I do..." --How many minutes does it take to deliver each parcel? Yajima: "About three minutes per parcel." By simple calculation, the pressure of delivering each parcel in three minutes can sometimes be dangerous. "But I'm trying to deliver them all quickly. If the amount of parcels and working hours are appropriate, it wouldn't be dangerous driving," he says. Absences and redelivery that plague drivers Before he had even finished delivering the morning's 118 parcels, new information appeared on the app in his hand. Yajima: "The afternoon delivery has already been skipped. Look at this. There are 109 parcels." He had already received instructions for the afternoon delivery. There were a total of 227 deliveries that day. Depending on the delivery destination, he had to run up steep slopes and stairs, and there were times when he was out of breath. "It's quite a difficult place..." said Yajima. "Does Amazon know that I'm working so hard? They say it's safe, but..." According to Yajima, many people now choose to have their parcels left at their doorsteps, which shortens delivery times. On the other hand, redelivery due to absence is a major problem for drivers who are pressed for time. Packages that are taken home will be redelivered, and it can take up to a week to complete the delivery. ■Yajima: "The number of packages doesn't decrease, even in rain or wind" It was around 8:30 pm when they finished delivering all the packages. It was a grueling 12-hour long shift. Yajima: "They don't see us as people. The amount of packages doesn't decrease, regardless of the weather, rain, or wind, so I wonder if they only see us as machines, robots. I guess they use them until they break down, and they think, 'there's always more to come.'" ■30 packages increase... what's behind it? I visited Yajima again in mid-May, just over a month after the overtime restrictions began. He says that the number of packages has increased by about 30 since April. It is believed that the overtime restrictions imposed by major companies are behind this. Yajima: "I've heard that (employees from major companies) are gradually quitting and there are fewer workers. They can't earn overtime pay. If Amazon is going to make the same amount of de