The Vietnam Freight and Logistics Market are estimated to grow at a CAGR of approximately 13% during the forecast period.

Vietnam is at an inflection point, with a rapidly increasing GDP, the young population, and the willingness to adopt new technologies. The logistics market in the country is in its transition stage and the demand for logistics is rising strongly. High economic growth, increasing domestic manufacturing, the rise in consumption, and booming e-commerce are some of the key drivers of the Vietnamese freight and logistics market. Weak transport infrastructure and high logistics cost remain to be market restraints. Contract logistics is one of the key trends in the Vietnamese freight and logistics market. The booming e-commerce in the country presents an opportunity for start-ups with innovative technologies demanding more efficient logistics services, especially in the areas of last-mile delivery and value-added services. The logistics market in Vietnam is becoming more liberalized, creating opportunities for new companies to cash in on the rising demand.

Key Market Trends

The country is aiming to become maritime powerhouse with the growing maritime sector

With a coastline of 3,260 kilometers and a number of rivers flowing the country, Vietnam holds a lot of potential for maritime freight transport. In 2018, the seaports of Vietnam handled 524.7 million metric tons of cargo, 19% more than that in 2017. The country has 1,593 ships, with a total capacity of about 7.8 million DWT as of December 2018, ranking fourth in ASEAN and 30th globally. Additionally, Vietnam has 272 wharfs with an accumulated annual capacity exceeding 550 million metric tons. There are around 1,300 businesses in the country providing maritime businesses; however, they fulfill only a portion of the market demand. The maritime sector of the country needs investments, and as it grows, the sector is likely to have a profound impact on the economy.

The Vietnamese government plans to make Vietnam a powerful maritime country by 2030. It aims to increase the maritime sector contribution to GDP to 10%. Further, the government aims to increase the contribution of the 28 coastal cities and provinces to the Vietnamese economy to 65% - 70%, which was around 60% in 2017. The country aims to increase the throughput to 640 to 680 million metric ton, per year, by 2020, and 1,040 to 1,160 metric tons, per year, by 2030. The government is also looking to reduce the dependence on road transport and cut the volume of goods transported on roads.

Shift of manufacturing facilities is leading to rise in the demand for logistics services

Over the last 20 years, Vietnam has established itself as one of the brightest manufacturing hotspots in Southeast Asia. From 1986 to 2018, land allotted to industrial parks increased from 335 hectares to an impressive 80,000 hectares. Owing to low labor costs, Vietnam has received a lot of capital over the years, for establishing assembling facilities and manufacturing factories. Raw materials and mechanical spare parts for manufacturing and production purposes are one of the key imports of the country. Raw materials for manufacturing are imported into the country and the manufactured products are exported, which demand an effective logistics sector, supporting the manufacturing sector of the country.

The country is establishing itself as an export-driven economy. The government is encouraging business in the manufacturing sector and is attracting investments in this sector, by establishing economic zones and industrial parks. In recent years, the number of businesses that relocated their operations from China to Vietnam has been increasing. The rising costs in China, the country moving away from labor-intensive industries, and moving up the value chain is leading the businesses to relocate their manufacturing facilities to Southeast Asia, and the proximity and geographic location of Vietnam make it a viable option. Moreover, Vietnam has lot of trade agreements (around 17 FTAs), which create a favorable business environment for domestic and foreign companies.

Competitive Landscape

The logistics market landscape of Vietnam is highly fragmented in nature and most of the players are small- and medium-sized firms providing low-value-added logistics services. There are more than 3,000 logistics companies, and 90% of them have a registered capital of less than VND 10 billion. Only 5% of these have a capital in the range of VND 10-20 billion, while the remaining have more than VND 20 billion. The competition between the domestic logistic companies is fierce, and the Vietnamese freight and logistics market is dominated by foreign companies. Even though the foreign logistics firms account for less share of transportation volume, these take 70%-80% of the revenue of the logistics market. This highly fragmented nature is also limiting the logistics potential of Vietnam up to some extent.

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