Expanding trade scale, logistics faces significant potential.
The strong growth of import and export activities is creating an increasingly large market for Vietnam's logistics industry. In the first seven months of 2026, Vietnam's total import and export turnover is estimated at $659 billion, an increase of 28.1% compared to the same period last year; of which, exports reached $319.7 billion, an increase of 21.7%, and imports were approximately $339 billion, an increase of 34.5%. Ministry of Industry and Trade forecasts that total import and export turnover for the whole year of 2026 could exceed $1 trillion.
This shows that scale of Vietnam's goods trade is continuing to expand rapidly. Behind increase in trade volume is an ever-growing volume of goods that need to be transported, stored, delivered, cleared through customs and distributed. This means market for logistics services continues to expand, but it also demands that logistics capacity develop proportionally to the new scale of the economy.
With ever-expanding scale of goods trade, logistics is increasingly becoming a crucial link determining efficiency of goods circulation and competitiveness of import and export activities. In an interview with the Industry and Trade Newspaper, Mr. Tran Thanh Hai, Deputy Director of Import-Export Department, Ministry of Industry and Trade, stated that development of production, market expansion and international economic integration are creating an ever-increasing demand for logistics services, while simultaneously requiring the industry's capacity to be upgraded accordingly.
For import and export enterprises, logistics directly impacts delivery times, contract fulfillment capabilities and goods costs. Well-organized logistics not only shortens transportation time and reduces warehousing costs but also enhances order fulfillment capabilities and product competitiveness in the market.
This role becomes even more apparent as international trade is constantly impacted by geopolitical fluctuations, transportation route disruptions, fuel prices and changes in trade policies in various markets. Ability to organize supply chains and select appropriate transportation methods and routes is therefore becoming an increasingly important part of a business's competitiveness.
“With scale of import and export continuing to expand and approaching $1 trillion mark, demand for logistics services is enormous. Therefore, logistics capacity also needs to be upgraded accordingly to both meet requirements of goods movement and support businesses in better utilizing market opportunities and free trade agreements that Vietnam participates in”, Mr. Tran Thanh Hai emphasized.
The industry's development opportunities are further strengthened by Vietnam Logistics Services Development Strategy for a period of 2025-2035, with a vision to 2050, which establishes long-term development orientations and goals. Decision No.2229/QD-TTg dated October 9, 2025, of the Prime Minister approving Vietnam Logistics Services Development Strategy for a period of 2025-2035, with a vision to 2050, identifies development of logistics services as an important economic sector with high added value; and considers logistics as a driving force and essential service to promote socio-economic development.
During period of 2025-2035, the Strategy aims for an average annual growth rate of 12-15% for logistics services industry; and a 5-7% share of added value from logistics services in GDP. Logistics costs relative to GDP have decreased to equivalent of 12-15%. Vietnam also aims to be among the top 40 countries in the world in Logistics Performance Index (LPI) and to develop at least 5 modern, internationally-standard logistics service centers.
These goals show that requirements for Vietnamese logistics in the coming period are not simply about expanding scale to meet increasing volume of goods. More importantly, it's about shifting to improving quality, efficiency and added value, thereby transforming logistics into one of driving forces supporting economic growth.
From market potential to genuine competitiveness
Along with rapid expansion of production and import/export, Vietnamese logistics has made significant progress in recent years, gradually improving its ability to meet needs of goods circulation in the economy. This is an important foundation for the industry to continue moving towards a more modern, professional and higher-value-added development phase.
There is still significant room for Vietnam's logistics sector to further improve its efficiency and competitiveness. Vietnam's logistics costs are currently estimated at around 16-17% of GDP, while Vietnam Logistics Service Development Strategy for a period of 2025-2035, with a vision to 2050, aims to reduce this ratio to 12-15% of GDP. This also represents room for the industry to further optimize operations, strengthen connectivity, apply technology and improve service quality in the coming years.
These figures highlight a noteworthy challenge: scale of goods trade is increasing rapidly, but to transform this ever-growing volume into a driving force for the development of the logistics industry, service delivery capacity must be improved accordingly. If bottlenecks in connectivity, costs and service quality are not addressed, the large market potential may not fully translate into competitiveness.
According to Deputy Director of Import-Export Department Tran Thanh Hai, improving connectivity is one of crucial requirements for Vietnam's logistics in the coming period. Logistics does not operate as isolated links but as a continuous chain, from transportation, warehousing, delivery to distribution, involving multiple modes of transport, localities and enterprises. Only when these links are synchronously connected can resources be effectively utilized, thereby optimizing entire logistics chain.
Infrastructure challenge therefore lies not only in roads, seaports or airports but also in the warehousing system, logistics centers, inland ports and ability to connect production areas and industrial zones with border gates, seaports and consumer markets. Notably, although Vietnam already has several large seaports and airports, capacity for container transport and air cargo transportation still has limitations that need to be addressed.
Along with infrastructure, capacity of enterprises is a decisive factor in quality of the industry's growth. As customer demands become increasingly high, logistics businesses can no longer primarily provide isolated services. They need to enhance their ability to offer integrated services, apply technology and participate more deeply in supply chain management of manufacturing and import/export enterprises.
To bring about this change, after the strategy was approved, Ministry of Industry and Trade implemented specific steps to concretize the objectives and tasks. On March 13, 2026, Ministry of Industry and Trade issued Decision No.458/QD-BCT on action plan for implementing strategy for development of Vietnam's logistics services in a period of 2025-2035, with a vision to 2050. The Ministry also held meetings with ministries, sectors, associations, localities and businesses to identify practical issues and determine priority tasks.
Bringing the strategy to each locality is particularly significant because each locality has different conditions in terms of geographical location, sources of goods, economic structure, and infrastructure. Some localities possess seaports and border gates; some concentrate industrial zones and large-scale production areas; but there are also localities that do not have direct advantages in logistics. Therefore, logistics development needs to be linked to specific advantages and placed within a regional linkage framework rather than developing in isolation.
Along with linkages, digital transformation, green transformation and improving quality of human resources will be important drivers. The application of technology and data can help businesses optimize the management of vehicles, warehouses, orders and transportation operations. Meanwhile, increasingly stringent environmental and emission requirements in international supply chain also force Vietnamese logistics businesses to proactively transform if they want to participate more deeply in the global market.
“Resolution No.19/NQ-TW on reforming Vietnam's development model, issued at the 3rd Central Committee Meeting (14th term), identified strong development of new growth drivers from high-value services. If we implement the Strategy well and at the same time create close coordination between state management agencies, localities, associations and the business community, Vietnamese logistics industry will have conditions to develop in a modern, professional, efficient direction with higher added value”, Mr. Tran Thanh Hai expected.
From an import-export scale of 930 billion USD in 2025 to potential to exceed 1,000 billion USD in 2026, market foundation for Vietnamese logistics is changing rapidly. However, new development opportunities lie not only in the increased volume of goods, but also in ability to shift to higher value-added segments, provide integrated services and participate deeply in supply chain management.
With potential from import and export growth and the newly established development directions, Vietnam's logistics sector is facing a strong opportunity for transformation in scale, quality, and added value. As infrastructure, connectivity, technology and enterprises capacity are all improved, logistics will increasingly participate more deeply in the supply chain, contributing to cost reduction, enhancing the competitiveness of Vietnamese goods and expanding market access. This will be foundation for logistics to gradually assert its role as an important driving force in the new growth phase of the economy.

Source: Vitic/ congthuong.vn