VIETNAM's increased manufacturing has resulted in a 20 per cent year-on-year rise the country's air freight, according to Amanda Rasmussen, the recently elected chairwoman of AmCham Vietnam.
'Vietnam is really hitting its stride and, barring any unforeseen global events, I think we're going to see a very positive economic period coming up,' said Ms Rasmussen, also chief operating officer of general sales agent Indo Trans Logistics (ITL).
Hanoi, where electronics exports dominate, now claims a 52 per cent share of the traffic; whereas in the south, Ho Chi Minh City, garments and footwear lead with a 47 per cent share.
The main tradelanes are with North Asia (30 per cent market share), the EU (25 per cent) and the US (28 per cent).
But the trade war had little to do with the spurt in growth. 'I can't say it had a huge impact in 2018. Last year's growth can be attributed very heavily to the existing big players here.
'But there's a general shift of manufacturing from China that's been going on for some time, and I definitely believe this year we will see a much faster pace of that shift. That in turn will continue in a bigger way into the air freight market.'
For example, Ms Rasmussen said, from the third quarter last year ITL worked with many companies opening their first factory in Vietnam, helping them set up their logistics operations.
'Of course, everything takes time to set up, so I don't think we've really seen the true effects yet,' she said.
Based in Ho Chi Minh City and with offices across the region, ITL is one of the largest air cargo players in South-east Asia. It acts as a general sales agent (GSA) for 22 airlines, operates 200 flights a week and uplifts over 80,000 tonnes of air freight per year.
In Vietnam, ITL is the number one GSA and controls around 17 per cent of the country's total air freight export market, according to Ms Rasmussen.
'The legacy of our business is air freight but we're now a full-service operator,' she explained, adding that as an asset-based logistics provider the company had grown into the fourth-largest logistics company in Vietnam.
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'Vietnam is really hitting its stride and, barring any unforeseen global events, I think we're going to see a very positive economic period coming up,' said Ms Rasmussen, also chief operating officer of general sales agent Indo Trans Logistics (ITL).
Hanoi, where electronics exports dominate, now claims a 52 per cent share of the traffic; whereas in the south, Ho Chi Minh City, garments and footwear lead with a 47 per cent share.
The main tradelanes are with North Asia (30 per cent market share), the EU (25 per cent) and the US (28 per cent).
But the trade war had little to do with the spurt in growth. 'I can't say it had a huge impact in 2018. Last year's growth can be attributed very heavily to the existing big players here.
'But there's a general shift of manufacturing from China that's been going on for some time, and I definitely believe this year we will see a much faster pace of that shift. That in turn will continue in a bigger way into the air freight market.'
For example, Ms Rasmussen said, from the third quarter last year ITL worked with many companies opening their first factory in Vietnam, helping them set up their logistics operations.
'Of course, everything takes time to set up, so I don't think we've really seen the true effects yet,' she said.
Based in Ho Chi Minh City and with offices across the region, ITL is one of the largest air cargo players in South-east Asia. It acts as a general sales agent (GSA) for 22 airlines, operates 200 flights a week and uplifts over 80,000 tonnes of air freight per year.
In Vietnam, ITL is the number one GSA and controls around 17 per cent of the country's total air freight export market, according to Ms Rasmussen.
'The legacy of our business is air freight but we're now a full-service operator,' she explained, adding that as an asset-based logistics provider the company had grown into the fourth-largest logistics company in Vietnam.
WORLD SHIPPING