JAPAN AUTOMOBILE RECYCLE NETWORK NEWS

Vol. 80

METI report cites
lack of awareness ofreuse and rebuilt parts
and need forclassification
An interim report released on August
18 by a Ministry of Economy, Trade andIndustry group studying theestablishment of standards forautomotive reuse and rebuilt parts foundthat 90 percent of vehicle owners who
did not have repairs done with reuse or
rebuilt parts were unaware of such parts.
The report said a parts-classification
system was needed to make it easier forboth vehicle owners and repair shops tounderstand reuse and rebuilt parts. The
group was formed on Jan. 14, 2014 under
the auspice of the Automobile Divisionof METI’s Manufacturing Industries
Bureau. The interim report was issued
after the group’s fifth meeting. All
meetings have been attended byknowledgeable persons, industry andconsumer representatives. Below is asummary of the report.

OCTOBER 2014

http://www.jara.co.jp

satisfaction, some expressed
dissatisfaction in terms of quality andsafety.
Of those who had not had repair on
their vehicles done using reuse or rebuilt
parts, 90 percent gave such reasons as“Did not know about recycled parts” or“Was not told about such parts by therepair shop or insurance company”. The
study group concludes that it is importantto create an environment in which theexistence of reuse and rebuilt parts iseasily communicated from repair shops
to car users, thereby reducing
opportunity loss.
Among vehicle owners who wereaware of reuse or rebuilt parts, nearly 65
percent did not use such parts cited“Dissatisfied with or have concerns
about such parts” as the reason. The
study group concludes that it is importantthat vehicle owners should be helped tounderstand the conditions of reuse andrebuilt parts so that they can consider
their use. Accurate and easy-tounderstand information on such parts
Direction toward establishment ofstandards for reuse and rebuilt parts

Published by JARA Corporation
Tokyo Head Office: Shinwa Bldg. 1-2-2-7F
Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, JAPAN 103-0027
Phone: +81 3 3548 3010 / Fax: +81 3 3231 4690

CO2 Reduction Result(based on Super-Line System)

The use of Reuse Parts saved

2,725 tons of CO2emissions
in August 2014
The reference figure represents thedifference of carbon dioxide (CO2)emissions at the vehicle repair using
genuine (new) parts and recycled parts.**: Based on "Green Point System", which wasjointly developed by the Japan Automotive Parts
Recyclers Association and Waseda University
Environmental Research Institute using a life cycle
assessment (LCA) technique.

repair shops view reuse and rebuilt partsin terms of how their functions andperformance compare with new genuine
replacement parts.
The study group concludes that, taking
into consideration ease of understandingby vehicle owners and repair shops, arough classification should be used thatgroups reuse parts into “used parts forreuse as is”, and that groups rebuilt parts
into “used parts with restored
functionality for reuse”.

The difference between reuse andrebuilt parts has been defined based on
the difference in the processes for
Expected effects of the standards
commercialization of such parts. As
such, reuse parts are defined as “parts forConcerns of quality among car1) Forming an appropriate market
which quality checks, cleaning orownersenvironment
beautification are performed without
Reuse and rebuilt parts are currently
disassembling," and rebuilt parts are
Published by SPN Co.,Ltd.
According to a survey on recycledcommercializeddependingon eachdefinedas“partsreassembledusing
newRECYCLE NETWORK NEWS Tokyo Head Office: Shinwa
Bldg. 1-2-2-7F
p a r t s , c o n d u c t e d b y t h eJAPANG e n e rAUTOMOBILE
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company’s
criteria,
andthensuppliedcomponents to replace worn or
Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, JAPAN 103-0027 toInsurance Association of Japanin 02
2013, MARCH
http://www.spn-partner.comthe market.
Vol.
Phone: +81A3 3548
3010 / Fax: +81 3practice3231 4690 in2008 ones.”well-establisheddeteriorated
while many car owners who had reuse or
On the other hand, vehicle owners and–Continued on Page 2rebuilt parts used in repair expressedJAPAN AUTOMOBILE RECYCLE NETWORK NEWS No.80 OCTOBER 2014 < 2 >companies.” Ass u c h , t h emembers agreed
to create common
video manuals
for each parts,
i n c l u d i n g
e n g i n e s ,transmissions,and mufflers.
Video manuals
will be preparedby each groupand then common
specifications
will be discussed
at the next
meeting.
The studygroup is also
considering differentiation of its common
packaging to make it stand out. Amongother ideas and opinions was to havesomething that showed the quality of theplanned common packaging, as, currently,
not much is being done to advertise thequality of recycled parts packaging.

Logistics study group holds 6th meeting
On September 6, the “Automobile
Recycled Parts Logistics StudyAssociation,” formed by a total of eightcompanies and groups, including systemdeveloper and transport companies, held
its sixth regular meeting. Two groups,
System Auto Parts and Buyukai, newly
joined as official members. Followingthe previous discussions, the meetingmembers exchanged opinions on how toreduce transport costs, as well as on thecommon packaging of recycled parts.
As new development, one member
suggested, “When packaging isstandardized, how create labeling that
promotes the reliability (of recycledparts)?”
Cost reduction, the center ofargument
The sixth meeting kicked off with areview of videos showing packaging forbumpers and doors, which wasdiscussed at preceding meetings. A
member hinted that the video, itself, wasuseful, saying “It could be good for
explaining packaging to our group–Continued from Page 1

METI report onreuse/rebuilt parts

the industry is that any defects are
viewed as business issue between only
two parties—the recycler (supplier) andthe repair shop (user).
Establishing standards will clarify
what practices suppliers need to follow,
including as concerns observance ofrelated law, and, thus, encourage active
efforts by the industry members toadhere to such standards. It is believedthat such would help build an

Discussions also began to cover parts
pricing. System Auto Parts President
Hideyuki Doi acknowledged the realitiesof the current business situation, saying:“They say parts prices are going up, butthe prices for which they are sold tocustomers are declining. Together withtransport costs, parts prices are high.”
Meeting Chairperson Sosho Kitajima
said; “I want to know whether the parts
price includes the transport cost or isseparated at other groups”. In response,
member of the study group decided toclarify the pricing systems of each groupin order to grasp the exact situation oftransport costs for recycled parts.
Meanwhile, face with rising costs,
transport companies also began toactively discuss issues on the transportside. They explained the situation of theappropriate market environment.
2) Earning trustStandardizing the inspections, recordkeeping and management scope needed
for reuse and rebuilt parts production, andevaluating such efforts by a third party
would confirm that parts would befunctionally capable of s erving asreplacement parts. This would help raise
the reputation of such parts andstrengthen the market.
3) Market expansion
Making clear the conditions of reusebusinesses and asked understanding of
cost hikes, explaining that their driver
shortage has recently worsened, meaningthat they could not send trucks to receive
new orders, and that the cargo damage
rate has become an issue seriously
discussed within their companies.
At the sixth meeting, the study groupagreed to gather from each group cases ofdamaged cargo. “It will be easier to takenecessary measures if we see actual casesof damaged cargo inside a truck,” said ameeting member responsible for logisticssystem management. Damage cases andclaims due to transport accidents will becompiled monthly, without establishingdetailed rules for each type of part.
Representatives from transportcompanies gave a lecture on the causes oftransport accidents. A transport company,
which aims to improve the transport
environment, presented a drawing of ideal
packaging. “Both the returnable
packaging and exclusive materials forbumper packaging have good and bad
points. A box-shape is the best,” therepresentative insisted. However, therecycled parts industry argued that it
could not know whether such would bedurable enough, without see a full-scalesample. As a result, the transportcompany agreed to provide a sample forthe next discussion.
Furthermore, an issue involving thedelivery date was brought up. “I think thetransport cost will be reduced if thedelivery date is not set at tomorrow only,”a member said. The transport company
explained; “We have no discount fee
system for delayed or no-date-specifieddelivery.” He added; “It is a fact that
faster delivery or date-specified delivery
will increase the burden on ouroperations.”
The study group consists of NGP, Big
Wave, JARA, ARN, SSG, Broadleaf,System Auto Parts, and Buyukai. (Daily
Automotive News, Sept. 11 issue)
and rebuilt parts before such parts are use
in repair would lessen the concerns ofvehicle owners.
Raising the reputation of parts
suppliers would expand sales channels
that had previously not used many reuse
and rebuilt parts. Transparency in theconditions of such parts would lead to
trade prices being set at appropriatelevels.
Expanding opportunities for using
reuse and rebuilt parts would help themarket grow.
(Garagia September issue)

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