Vietnam ranks top 5 in ASEAN in logistics efficiency index

Vietnam's logistics efficiency index is currently ranked 43rd out of 154 countries and territories. In the region, Vietnam is in the top 5 of ASEAN, after Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and equal to the Philippines.

Experts at the Seminar "Adapting green logistics - Solutions to support businesses".

Vietnam ranks top 5 in ASEAN in logistics efficiency index

Vietnam's logistics efficiency index currently ranks 43rd out of 154 countries and territories, and in the region, Vietnam ranks in the top 5 of ASEAN after Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and is on par with the Philippines.

Ms. Dang Hong Nhung, Import-Export Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade) shared this information at the seminar "Adapting Green Logistics - Solutions to support businesses" on the morning of September 9.

Logistics contributes significantly to Vietnam's import-export growth, along with great growth potential.

Agility's 2023 report ranked Vietnam among the top 10 emerging logistics markets and ranked 4th in the International Logistics Opportunity Index.

Along with the process of international economic integration as well as import-export activities, investment and the boom of e-commerce, Vietnam logistics has also achieved remarkable results. The industry's growth rate is about 15%, the market size is from 40 to 42 billion USD/year.

The logistics market currently has the participation of 40,000 businesses operating in the field of transportation and warehousing, including very big names in the world such as DHL, CJ logistics and Maersk Lines...

Vietnamese enterprises also have enterprises such as Transimex, Sotran, Tan Cang Saigon... These are enterprises that are capable of competing with foreign enterprises operating in Vietnam.

If in 2010, Vietnam's import-export turnover was just over 150 billion USD, then in 2023 it increased to 680 billion USD. During the difficult period due to Covid-19, the import-export growth rate still reached an average of 11.3%/year.

Although import-export turnover in 2023 slowed down, in the first 8 months of 2024, it recovered and reached import-export turnover of over 511 billion USD, an increase of 16.7% over the same period in 2023.

Standard Chartered's forecast research shows that Vietnam will be one of the main factors contributing to global trade growth and forecasts that by 2030, Vietnam's exports will reach over 680 billion USD with an average growth rate of 7%/year.

"Growth in import and export, manufacturing and the boom in e-commerce will be the main drivers for the development of logistics services in the coming time," said Ms. Nhung.

Green transition pressure

Logistics plays a very important role in the development of the global economy and Vietnam, but this is also an industry with very large emissions and high energy consumption. According to research by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, transportation activities have contributed up to 8% of total CO2 emissions worldwide. If warehousing is added, this number can be up to 11%.

Dr. Tran Thi Thu Huong, Head of the Department of Logistics and Supply Chain, University of Commerce, said: "Vietnam has only participated in part of the global logistics chain, so this industry is under great pressure to accelerate greening to be able to compete with foreign logistics companies."

The pressure is on businesses to comply with new regulations from governments and international organizations for green transformation in reducing waste and saving energy consumption.

For example, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) is tightening regulations on marine fuels and these regulations will impact the entire world maritime industry and Vietnam is not immune to those regulations.

In Vietnam, there are currently nearly 30 large logistics corporations in the world, more than 34,000 domestic logistics enterprises. However, most of Vietnam's logistics enterprises only play the role of satellites, providing logistics services for foreign logistics companies when performing international logistics services.

"This will put pressure on Vietnamese businesses, especially when large corporations and logistics companies play the role of operators of global logistics chains, strongly transforming to green, and they require Vietnamese logistics businesses when participating in their logistics chains to also meet the requirements to green the entire logistics chain," Ms. Huong explained.

As a logistics enterprise in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry, Dong A Pharmaceutical Logistics Joint Stock Company (DPL) said that the enterprise has proactively implemented solutions to cut costs in its operations, thereby reinvesting in green items.

Regarding packaging materials, previously using materials such as foam and non-reusable nylon, businesses are considering recycling carton boxes and packaging materials for reuse, helping to cut costs;

To reduce CO2 emissions, the company works with many Chinese contractors to find projects that can invest in trucks and refrigerated trucks for long-distance travel, helping to reduce emissions and costs compared to gasoline vehicles, while also finding ways to cut costs for waste treatment in warehouses...

According to Mr. Mai Tran Thuat, General Director of Dong A Pharmaceutical Logistics Joint Stock Company: "Applying green logistics must start with the story of cost reduction, businesses must change themselves to meet the new, green requirements of customers".

Because, green logistics is no longer a trend or a choice for businesses, but will become a mandatory requirement for businesses.

However, the widespread implementation of green logistics still faces many challenges. Enterprises face obstacles related to technical and technological barriers, investment cost issues, limitations in the awareness of enterprises themselves, and unsynchronized logistics infrastructure.

Survey results from the University of Commerce show that about 66% of Vietnamese logistics enterprises have begun to have green goals in their business development strategies.

However, in practice, it is seen that only a few have applied the ISO 14,000 standard. For example, with the application of ISO 14,000 standard, only over 33% of enterprises have applied this standard, showing that there is still a gap from strategy to actual implementation in enterprises.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/viet-nam-dung-top-5-asean-ve-chi-so-hieu-qua-logistics-d224410.html