International Trade of Used Trains: The Case of Japanese Used Rolling Stock in Indonesia

Abstract

This chapter analyzes exports of used Japanese railroad rolling stock from the perspective of the international trade of used goods. Through a case study of Indonesia, where a large number of Japanese used rolling stock vehicles have been transferred since the 2000s, this chapter clarifies how and why such a large number have been transferred, what problems have arisen during the reuse of the equipment, and how the Indonesian railway service has tackled these issues. This chapter concludes by pointing out that although the transfer of Japanese used rolling stock to Indonesia is a success story, international reuse of rolling stock can be characterized by such issues as lack of openness, continuity, and environmental considerations.

Appendices

Appendix 1

To understand exports of Japanese rolling stock, the author uses the Trade Statistics published by the Ministry of Finance to analyze Japanese exports of assembled railroad rolling stock since the late 1980s. HS codes 8601–8606 represent railroad rolling stock. HS code 8601 is for electric locomotives, HS code 8602 is for other locomotives (diesel and steam locomotives), HS code 8603 is for self-propelled coach or freight cars (electric-powered railcars and diesel railcars), HS code 8604 is for maintenance or operation cars, HS code 8605 is for coach cars and trailers, and HS code 8606 is for freight cars.

These statistics show the amounts, weights, and values of exported rolling stock by HS code but do not distinguish between newly produced and used rolling stock. See Table 3.3 for the classification of rolling stock exports by region and Table 3.4 for the classification of rolling stock exports by type. It is clear that the main commodities in Japanese rolling stock exports are electric and diesel railcars (HS code 8603). Because HS code 8605 includes control trailers and trailers, we can estimate that over half of rolling stock exports are electric and diesel railcars. It is also noteworthy that there are many exports of freight cars.

Table 3.3 Exports of Japanese railroad rolling stock (by region)

Table 3.4 Exports of Japanese railroad rolling stock (by HS code)

Appendix 2

To supplement the analysis of exports of Japanese used rolling stock, the author also uses data from the Vital Statistic Survey on Railroad Rolling Stock Production published by the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Asazuma (2011), the only article written in Japanese on Japanese used rolling stock, estimates exports of used rolling stock based on these statistics. It shows the amount and value of newly produced railcars in Japan, distinguishing those produced for domestic users such as JR and other private railway companies and those built for export. The amounts of used railcars exported can be estimated by subtracting exports of newly produced railcars found in the Vital Statistic Survey from the total export of railcars in the export statistics, that is, the total for HS codes 8601–8606.

The result of this estimation is shown in Table 3.5. Because the Vital Statistic Survey on Railroad Rolling Stock Production does not include the amounts of maintenance and operation railcars produced, the author calculates exports of rolling stock by subtracting the number of maintenance and operation railcars (HS code 8604) from the total exports in the Trade Statistics, as shown in the second row. The author also calculates the exports of passenger railcars by subtracting both the number of maintenance and operation railcars and the number of freight cars (HS code 8606), as shown in the third row. This table shows that exports of used rolling stock might account for about 60% of the total rolling stock exports from Japan and more than half of passenger railcar exports.

Table 3.5 Statistics of rolling stock exports and production

However, as Asazuma (2011) points out, we should be careful when using these statistics because they are collected under different standards. We therefore continue to analyze the exports of used railroad rolling stock using a different method.

The author also uses the Trade Statistics released by the Ministry of Finance to estimate the exports of Japanese used rolling stock. The Trade Statistics show the amount and value of exported railroad rolling stock by HS code. With this, we can estimate the export value of a single-unit railcar. A newly built car will necessarily have a higher export value, whereas the value of a used car will be lower.

Figure 3.2 shows estimates based on the second method. The figure includes the estimate based on the differences between the Vital Statistic Survey on Railroad Rolling Stock Production and export amounts of rolling stock in the Trade Statistics and the export amounts of newly produced railcars in the Vital Statistic Survey on Railroad Rolling Stock, as shown in Table 3.5. As the figure shows, the estimate based on export values in the Trade Statistics survey is very close to the estimate. This can be observed when using export amounts of newly produced railcars excluding maintenance and operation railcars in the Vital Statistic Survey on Railroad Rolling Stock Production. Although it is difficult to find an accurate number for exported used rolling stock, it is possible to estimate the overall picture and trends.

Fig. 3.2

Exports of rolling stock and estimated exports of used rolling stock. (Source: Ministry of Finance, Trade Statistics; and Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, Vital Statistic Survey on Rolling Stock Production)

Appendix 3

This transfer can be confirmed in the Trade Statistics (Table 3.6). The initial transfer of rolling stock from the Marunouchi Line corresponds to 131 units of railcars (HS codes 8603 and 8605) between 1994 and 1996. The transfer from the Transportation Bureau of the City of Nagoya corresponds to 78 units between 1998 and 2002 and 30 units between 2014 and 2015. These statistics correspond to the information collected from secondary sources. It should be noted, however, that these railcars are not included in the estimate of used rolling stock exports shown in Fig. 3.2 because the export values in the Trade Statistics were 10–11 million yen per unit.

Table 3.6 Exports of Japanese rolling stock to Argentina