Subaru and Seino Transportation Partner to Improve Automotive Parts Logistics in Japan
Subaru has begun a collaboration with Seino Transportation to enhance long-distance parts transportation efficiency amid Japan's truck driver shortages.
February 2026
April 2025
What Happened
Subaru and Seino Transportation have launched a collaboration to consolidate long-distance transportation of automotive parts for electric vehicles produced at Subaru's Gunma Yajima Plant. By gathering parts from suppliers in the Chukyo region at Seino's Toyokawa Branch and using its nationwide network, the initiative aims to improve truck loading efficiency and streamline logistics.
Subaru establishes Chief Logistics Officer (CLO) position and Logistics Division to promote logistics optimization.
Collaboration with Seino Transportation begins; EV production starts at Gunma Yajima Plant.
- Truck driver shortages
- Transport capacity constraints
- Japan’s 2024 driver overtime limits
Why this matters
This partnership addresses critical logistics challenges like driver shortages and capacity constraints, essential for maintaining production and reducing costs in Japan's automotive industry.
Terms in This Story
- CLO
- Chief Logistics Officer, an executive responsible for overseeing and optimizing a company's logistics operations.
- Consolidated freight transport
- Combining multiple small shipments into a single larger one to improve efficiency and reduce costs.
- 2024 driver overtime limits
- Japan's regulations capping annual overtime for truck drivers, aimed at improving working conditions but reducing transport capacity.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.