Vietnam’s logistics industry is witnessing an unprecedented boom. Many Vietnamese businesses are determined to invest heavily and reduce costs.
Meanwhile, besides warehouses near the border, foreign enterprises are also investing heavily in Vietnam, not hiding their ambition to gain more market share.
"For the logistics industry, if it is slow to resolve current bottlenecks, the industry's competitive advantage will be narrowed, giving way to international competitors". - Ms. DANG MINH PHUONG
Vietnamese businesses strive to grow
Starting in 2025, many "giants" in the logistics industry such as Viettel Post, Bee Logistics and Gemadept aim to continuously innovate technology, reduce costs and increase operational efficiency. Projects that have been and are being implemented will be accelerated to expand infrastructure, modern transportation and warehouse networks to create a "big wave" to elevate the Vietnamese logistics industry.
For example, Viettel Post used to mainly deliver last-mile goods. In recent years, according to Mr. Hoang Trung Thanh - General Director of Viettel Post, the company not only wants to develop domestic delivery infrastructure but also aims to build a cross-border logistics system.
With customs bonded warehouse systems at international border gates, Viettel Post will play a key role in connecting Vietnam with countries in Southeast Asia and China.
In fact, the 143-hectare Viettel Logistics Park project in Lang Son, bordering China, was put into operation at the end of 2024, with a total investment of nearly VND3,300 billion. This project not only solves the problem of cargo congestion, especially agricultural products, but also shortens customs clearance time from 3-4 days to just 24 hours. Thanks to that, agricultural products such as dragon fruit and watermelon can now be exported quickly and safely, helping farmers minimize losses due to "border congestion".
Viettel Post also builds logistics centers in key production areas, such as the Mekong Delta and the Central Highlands, to reduce waiting time and save costs.
For example, a refrigerated container truck currently costs about 100 million VND. If the waiting time is reduced, this cost can be reduced to only 50 - 60 million VND. In addition, reducing the waiting time by 10 days also saves about 20 million VND in parking fees, air conditioning costs for refrigerated containers, etc.
Besides Viettel Post, Bee Logistics also sets a revenue target of VND 20,000 billion by 2027. With its strength in optimizing the supply chain and connecting transportation modes, Bee Logistics is rapidly expanding and creating comprehensive logistics solutions for customers globally.
Capital also continues to flow into seaport projects, buying more ships... from Vietnamese enterprises such as Hai An, Gemadept, Viconship...
In port services, Hai An is a well-known enterprise. According to the company representative, at the end of last year, the unit purchased additional large Panamax container ships (3,500 - 5,000 TEU), increasing the total capacity of the fleet by 45%. Hai An also promotes the exploitation of domestic and international transport routes, connecting major ports from Hai Phong, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City to Nansha, Qinzhou and Cai Mep - Thi Vai.
In the context of flexibility between internal exploitation and time-limited leasing, Hai An constantly optimizes profits and increases competitiveness.
Meanwhile, Gemadept has been heavily exploiting the deep-water port Gemalink, which has handled more than 3 million TEUs of cargo, far exceeding its designed capacity of 1.5 million TEUs/year. Gemadept is implementing the expansion phase of Gemalink 2A, expected to be completed in 2026, and the Nam Dinh Vu 3 port project with a capacity of 800,000 TEUs, ready to come into operation by the end of 2025.
80%
That is the market share in the logistics sector in Vietnam that is currently dominated by foreign enterprises, mainly from the US, Singapore and several other countries, according to a leader of Viettel Post.
Attracting foreign capital into warehouses and logistics services
The attractiveness of Vietnam’s logistics industry is attracting many large corporations from the US and China. Mr. Eric Liang, General Director of Best Express Vietnam, commented that the boom in e-commerce, with an annual growth rate of 16-30% and a value of more than 20 billion USD, has created momentum for the logistics industry.
The company entered Vietnam through a franchise model, with its post office network increasing from 450 points at the beginning of 2023 to 600 points by the end of the year. The company is currently processing 2.2 million orders/day, with a sorting time of only 0.5 - 2 seconds/parcel.
This company is having a key project to invest in smart warehouses and transform logistics technology in Vietnam to catch up with the booming e-commerce trend. According to Mr. Eric Liang, Vietnam has a great advantage as it is located on the Trans-Asia railway , connecting from Singapore through Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and to Kunming (China)...
Flexport President Sanne Manders said that before opening an office in Vietnam, the company had provided services to more than 1,300 Vietnamese exporting factories and helped transport goods for 500 importers. Vietnam is an important strategic market for Flexport.
International developers such as Mapletree (Singapore), BW Industrial (backed by Warburg Pincus) and GLP Capital's SEA Logistics Partners currently account for nearly three-quarters of the warehouse space for lease in Vietnam.
Opportunity to become the leading logistics hub in the region
Ms. Dang Minh Phuong, President of the Ho Chi Minh City Logistics Association, said that the shift in the global supply chain not only brings opportunities but also poses many challenges. This requires Vietnamese logistics enterprises to be flexible and persistent in adapting and innovating.
Vietnam is at a critical crossroads in the logistics industry. "If we can seize opportunities, improve infrastructure, promote innovation and reform policies, we can absolutely become a leading logistics hub in the region," said Ms. Phuong.
Increasing competitiveness of logistics services
The Vietnam Logistics Services Association believes that the attractiveness and potential of Vietnam's logistics industry is "indisputable". However, the major drawback is that logistics costs in Vietnam are higher than in many other countries.
Currently, Vietnam's logistics costs account for 18-20% of GDP, equivalent to 72-80 billion USD out of a total GDP of 400 billion USD. Meanwhile, the average logistics cost in the world is only 10.6%.
According to some enterprises, logistics infrastructure in Vietnam still has many limitations, lacks uniformity and connectivity. Inadequate seaport planning, lack of key ports... makes it difficult for Vietnamese logistics to make a rapid breakthrough.
Mr. Nguyen Thanh Trung, director of a logistics company in Ho Chi Minh City, shared that while foreign investors do not hide their ambition to gain more market share in warehousing and logistics services, the significant decline in domestic enterprises participating in the warehousing and transportation sector is a cause for concern.
The main reason for the domestic sector's disadvantage is due to limitations in enterprise scale and capital, the ability to apply technology, and human resource qualifications that do not meet international operating requirements... There is still concern that the "pie" of the warehouse and logistics service market share in Vietnam will fall completely into the hands of foreign sectors.
However, Mr. Hoang Trung Thanh believes that there is still a great opportunity because the number of Vietnamese logistics enterprises is still very small, while this market is growing at a rapid pace. It is forecasted that in the next 5 years, the scale of the express delivery market can increase at least 5 times the current level, even reaching a growth rate of 8-10 times, while the logistics market will increase about 14-15%/year.
Foreign enterprises mainly focus on existing market share, while the potential room for growth from market expansion is still very large. From this growth pie, there are still opportunities.
According to a leader of FM Logistics Vietnam, manufacturers and exporters in Vietnam are in dire need of multifunctional warehouse centers, including advanced warehousing services, logistics operations management, and integration of packaging, distribution and e-commerce.
The problem is that Vietnam is facing a shortage of logistics warehouses due to high industrial land rental prices and increasingly scarce land supply for lease in industrial parks .
Some experts believe that Vietnam needs a strong "conductor" to have policies to immediately resolve problems and stimulate development potential to avoid the logistics pie worth hundreds of billions of dollars from now being mainly dominated by foreign investors.
(According to Tuoi Tre)
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