Merchandise export activities in March continued to grow strongly

Merchandise export activities in March continued to grow strongly

Based on the statistics released by the General Statistics Office on the import and export situation in the first quarter of 2024, the impact on the international transportation industry, logistics companies, and forwarding companies can be assessed as follows:

1. Strong growth in import and export:
- The total import and export turnover of goods in the first quarter of 2024 reached 178.04 billion USD, an increase of 15.5% compared to the same period in 2023. Exports increased by 17%, reaching 93.06 billion USD; imports increased by 13.9%, reaching 84.98 billion USD.
-> This provides great opportunities for logistics and forwarding companies as the demand for goods transportation is high. Export and import orders will increase, helping to boost revenue and market share.

2. Strong growth in some export commodity groups:
- Many key commodities such as electronics, computers, components, and textiles grew strongly. There are 16 commodity groups with export turnover exceeding 1 billion USD, accounting for 82.1% of the total export turnover.
-> Logistics and forwarding companies need to focus on exploiting these key export commodity groups to optimize operations, provide specialized services, and improve competitiveness.

3. Structure of import and export markets:
- The United States is the largest export market (reaching 26.2 billion USD), while China is the largest import market (29.4 billion USD).
- The trade surplus with the United States increased by 27.9%, and with the EU by 15.8%; while the trade deficit with China increased sharply by 44.4% compared to the same period last year.
-> The United States and the EU are still the key export markets. Companies need to step up exploitation of transportation routes to these markets. On the other hand, it is necessary to pay attention to the sudden increase in imports from China. This is both an opportunity (increased transportation volume) and a challenge (competition in terms of price and service quality).

4. Trade balance and FDI:
- In the first quarter of 2024, Vietnam had a trade surplus of 8.08 billion USD, of which FDI enterprises had a surplus of up to 12.57 billion USD.
- FDI sector accounts for 72.9% of total export turnover and 65.1% of import turnover.
-> The role of FDI enterprises in import and export activities is very large. This is a potential customer group that logistics and forwarding companies need to focus on serving and meeting their strict service quality requirements.

5. Service trade deficit:
- In the first quarter of 2024, Vietnam had a service trade deficit of 2.33 billion USD, of which transportation services accounted for 42.9% of total service import turnover.
-> This shows that, despite strong growth in goods exports, Vietnam's logistics services are still highly dependent on foreign countries. Enterprises need to invest in capacity building to undertake more stages in the supply chain, reduce the transportation service deficit, and increase added value.

In summary, the import and export situation in the first quarter of 2024 opens up many opportunities for the logistics industry. However, to make good use of these opportunities, businesses need to actively grasp the market, step up exploitation of key routes and major export commodity groups. At the same time, they need to continue investing in capacity building, improving service quality, dominating the domestic market, and reducing the transportation service trade deficit.