Vietnam slips out of top 10 logistics ranking

The country had an overall score of 5.52 out of 10 in the 2020 Emerging Markets Logistics Index released by the world’s leading logistics company, Agility.

The firm ranked 50 countries by factors that make them attractive to logistics providers, freight forwarders, shipping lines, air cargo carriers and distributors. The three factors considered in the ranking were: domestic logistics opportunities, international logistics opportunities and business fundamentals.

China remains world's leading emerging logistics market, followed by India. Indonesia (4th), Malaysia (5th) and Thailand (9th) were Southeast Asian peers who did better than Vietnam in the global ranking.

Vietnam performed well in international opportunities, ranking 4th globally while it stood 21st in domestic logistics opportunities and 20th in business fundamentals, which includes regulatory environment, credit and debt dynamics, contract enforcement, anti-corruption safeguards, price stability and market access.

"Vietnam and Indonesia also saw their international logistics opportunities scores improve, with gains made via a combination of volumes won as manufacturers switched production locations from China, as well as moderate increases in domestic demand," the Agility report said.

According to the Vietnam Logistics Business Association's latest survey, there are around 30,000 logistics companies in the country, including 4,000 international ones.

The industry has been growing at 12-14 percent annually and is now worth $40-42 billion.