한·일간 트럭복합 일관운송의 활성화 방안

Abstract

The intra-trade between Korea, Japan, and China constitute 21.8% in the world trade. Now that it is on the rise continuously, this percentage is significant in terms of a single unit of Northeast Asia economy, though lower than that of the intra-trade in ASEAN and NAFTA countries. With the recognition of the three countries as a single economy unit, alternative ways of distributing goods and products have recently proposed to reduce the distribution cost and accommodate the distribution increase. Among the alternatives that are under consideration now are a submarine tunnel, a road-feeder service, and an Asian express way. Given this, this study aims to stress the importance of a road-feeder service between Korea and Japan as an efficient alternative and examine its effects.

When fully employed as a representative alternative, the Korea-Japan Road-Feeder Service plays more vital roles in the transportation of goods in the following respects.

First, the cost of inland transportation may be reduced because the transportation between the areas neighboring harbors will be based on a long-distance charge rather than a short-distance one.

Second, it will take less time to transport goods or products. This is due to the fact that ferries are quicker than container ships and the former have more simple the customs procedures than the latter.

Third, loading and unloading of containers and trucks take place at ferries and ships. So, freights will be more safely transported and the packing expenditure will be reduced.

Fourth, with the decrease of the time needed for carriage, there will be an increase in the amount of goods that involve more than one form of transportation, for example, Sea and Air.

Fifth, Korean companies are expected to penetrate into the logistics markets of Japan. This is made possible because trucks of Korean companies are allowed to distribute goods in Japan to some extent.

Sixth, the distribution system will be improved. With the reliable construction of the road-feeder service, the supply chain of goods will become more stable, and this will contribute to the global SCM efficiency of Korean companies.

It is predicted that it will take 15 years to 20 years and cost 70,000 billion to 100,000 billion won to construct the Korea-Japan submarine tunnel. This construction cost will be reflected in the future freight rate. In addition, to function fully, the tunnel must be linked to the Eurasia continent in connection with TCR and TSR. However, this connection seems impossible currently, given that South Korea and North Korea are divided. Consequently, there is a great possibility that in the absence of its guaranteed demand in the future, the construction of the tunnel may result in a wast of taxpayers' money. When due consideration is given to all of these potential problems, it seems clear that the ferry-based road-feeder service between Japan and Korea is the only alternative currently available and that it is also the best way of reducing distribution cost and meeting the demand of Korean logistics companies.