New acceleration for the major restructuring of transportation methods.

The ongoing global fuel crisis, while directly impacting transportation costs, particularly freight transport, will also accelerate the restructuring of transportation methods in Vietnam.

Freight transport service providers are under immense pressure due to rising fuel prices, especially diesel fuel. (Photo: PV)

Tensions across the entire transportation chain.

For about three weeks now, Mr. Pham Minh Tuan, General Director of Vikohasan Joint Stock Company (headquartered in Dong Van Industrial Park, Ha Nam), has been extremely worried as road and waterway container transport rates have been escalating daily.

As the largest PET plastic recycling company in the northern region, Vikohasan imports approximately 1,200 containers of PET plastic scraps from South Asia and Northeast Asia annually as raw materials and exports about 1,000 containers of polyester fiber to China and North America. Therefore, transportation costs are always a top concern for Vikohasan's management.

According to Vikohasan, from mid-March 2026 to the present, the freight cost for transporting containers from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City by road has increased from 18 million VND to 26 million VND per 40-foot container and is predicted to continue rising in the coming days.

Not only have domestic costs increased sharply, but businesses' export activities have also been doubly impacted by the Middle East conflict. Specifically, the freight cost for a 40-foot container from Hai Phong to ports in North America has more than doubled compared to the end of 2025, from $1,200-$1,300 to $2,800-$3,000 per container. At the same time, shipping times have been extended by 7-10 days due to some shipping routes being rerouted to avoid conflict zones.

"In the context of a fiercely competitive recycled fiber market, price adjustments with partners have not been possible, while sharply rising transportation costs are eroding almost all of the company's profits," said Mr. Pham Minh Tuan.

Not only manufacturing businesses, but also freight transport service providers are facing immense pressure due to fuel prices, especially with the sharp increase in diesel prices.

For road transport – the mode of freight transport – the increase of over 6,000 VND/liter of diesel fuel in a short period has created an immediate and direct cost shock. With fuel often accounting for 40-50% of the cost, the sharp increase in operating costs per trip leaves businesses with almost no room for compensation.

The immediate consequence is that freight rates will have to be adjusted upwards, especially on long-distance North-South routes or container transport, even though businesses have had to optimize routes, reduce empty vehicle runs, and even scale down operations to control costs.

"Many transport businesses have had to cut back on trips, operate at a reduced capacity, or renegotiate contracts, while a significant number of long-term contracts have 'locked in prices,' forcing transport companies to bear the resulting costs themselves," said the leader of a road container transport company.

For the railway industry – a sector transporting large volumes of domestic freight – fuel consumption is correspondingly high, and the pressure from rising fuel prices is even greater. Following fluctuations in diesel prices, the proportion of fuel costs in the cost structure of railway transport has increased from 12.9% to 25.9%, with fuel costs now accounting for up to 42.3% of freight rates. With this cost structure, to balance revenue and expenses, railway freight rates are estimated to need to increase by approximately 22.5% compared to the current level.

"These developments are putting immense pressure on the service prices of railway transport businesses, given that the ability to adjust fares depends on the market and competition with other modes of transport," said Mr. Hoang Chinh Nam, Deputy General Director of Vietnam Railways Corporation .

Notably, the increase in freight rates could lead to a decrease in the volume of goods transported, particularly some traditional commodities. Forecasts suggest that certain product groups, such as apatite, construction materials, fertilizers, chemicals, or agricultural products, could see a 25% to 40% reduction in transport volume as businesses adjust their logistics costs.

"In addition, some dedicated North-South freight train routes may have to adjust their operating frequency to suit market demand during a period of high transportation costs, possibly reducing from 37 pairs of trains/week to 28 pairs of trains/week," a representative of Vietnam Railways Corporation informed.

At the end of the transport chain, logistics service providers are also facing pressure from both shippers and transport companies, especially from foreign shipping lines that currently control over 90% of Vietnam's import and export cargo volume.

According to the Vietnam Logistics Business Association (VLA), 89.8% of surveyed logistics service providers reported being affected at a moderate level or higher, with 51% experiencing severe or critical impacts. The most significant impact was the sharp increase in freight costs (42.9%), leading to longer transit times, increased risk of customer delays or cancellations, higher insurance costs, and difficulties in booking transportation.

“The Middle East conflict is creating a serious external shock to Vietnam’s logistics industry. The impact is not limited to increased transportation costs, but also directly affects delivery schedules, cash flow, order retention, and the competitiveness of businesses. Given Vietnam’s high trade openness, if this situation persists, the impacts could spread to import and export activities and the entire supply chain,” assessed Mr. Dao Trong Khoa, Chairman of VLA.

"Closing the connection" between the railway and the seaport.

Immediately after freight rates began to rise, some domestic shippers turned to transportation companies offering consolidated and less-than-container-load (LCL) shipping services as a cost-saving solution. This method involves combining multiple small shipments from different shippers into a single container, instead of renting an entire container. This benefits both shippers and transportation companies by avoiding the wasteful practice of empty container runs, especially on the North-South transportation corridor.

However, Mr. Pham Minh Tuan argued that this method has the disadvantage of longer transportation times due to the need to wait for sufficient goods to be collected, and also incurs processing and sorting costs at transit points, making it unsuitable for businesses with large volumes of goods and a requirement for on-schedule delivery like Vikohasan.

According to Professor Bui Thien Thu, Vice President of the Vietnam Association of Ports and Continental Shelf (VAPO), the most fundamental solution to adapt to the volatile and increasingly unpredictable fuel costs, and to further reduce logistics costs, is to accelerate the restructuring of transportation methods.

VAPO leaders believe that, compared to many countries, Vietnam has a huge advantage in possessing all five modes of transport, including three high-volume, low-cost, and environmentally friendly modes: rail, maritime, and inland waterway transport.

However, due to limited resources, over the past 10 years, only the road infrastructure sector has been prioritized for funding. As a result, in just the last 5 years, the country has built and put into operation nearly 3,000 km of expressways, contributing to trade connectivity and opening up new impetus and development opportunities for localities.

Conversely, the unbalanced development of different modes of transport places an increasing burden on road transport for both goods and passengers, thereby raising logistics costs and putting pressure on transportation infrastructure.

"The over-reliance on road transport is also a major reason for the excessively high logistics costs, double the world and regional average, seriously affecting the competitiveness and investment attractiveness of the economy, along with the risk of inflation," a VLA representative stated.

Meanwhile, despite its advantages in transporting large volumes (one freight train can transport the equivalent of 20 road container trucks), speed, and punctuality, limitations in infrastructure quality have caused the rail transport market share to continuously "lose ground" in the face of fierce competition from air and road transport, and currently accounts for only about 1-2% of the passenger market and 1-3% of the freight market nationwide.

According to Mr. Phan Le Binh, an expert in infrastructure engineering, while waiting for investment in the North-South high-speed railway, the railway connecting Ho Chi Minh City - Can Tho, the Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong railway, the Hai Phong - Quang Ninh - Mong Cai railway, etc., to yield results in the next 5-10 years, it is necessary to immediately invest in branch railways with mixed gauge or standard gauge connecting the national railway with seaports and major industrial zones.

This assessment is well-founded, because in the past, the railway had connections to many major seaports, but these have been gradually dismantled, such as the ports of Cua Lo, Song Han, Quy Nhon, and Saigon. Currently, the entire railway industry only has two branch lines connecting to the Hoang Dieu (Hai Phong) and Cai Lan (Quang Ninh) terminals, but their efficiency is not high.

These unfortunate disruptions not only further isolate the railway from the freight market but also increase pressure on road transport routes, which already have very high transport costs and inherent traffic safety risks.

According to Vikohasan's leadership, the company needs to transport tens of thousands of tons of goods annually by rail from Dong Van Industrial Park to Hai Phong port and vice versa, but the railway sector can currently only handle station-to-station transportation.

"Railway transport costs from station to station are very competitive, but if you add the cost of road transport to and from the station, and loading and unloading costs, it's twice as expensive as road transport," Mr. Pham Minh Tuan informed.

Greening transportation methods.

One mode of transport that has not received commensurate investment is inland waterways. With 2,360 rivers of varying sizes totaling nearly 42,000 km in length, waterways have always been an intrinsic lifeline, a strategic solution for high-volume, efficient transport, and a greener economy.

With its ability to transport large volumes of oversized and overweight cargo, low energy consumption, and environmentally friendly practices, at a cost only about 1/3 to 1/5 of that of road transport, inland waterway transport currently handles approximately 18-20% of the total cargo transported nationwide.

According to the World Bank, shifting goods from road to waterway transport not only significantly reduces pressure on overloaded road infrastructure (which handles over 70% of total goods), limits traffic congestion and accidents, but also brings outstanding environmental benefits.

However, the proportion of public investment allocated to this sector accounted for only about 2% of the total investment in the entire transport sector during the period 2001-2020, much lower than the actual contribution of inland waterway transport to goods circulation, regional connectivity, and emission reduction.

Many key waterways are restricted by bottlenecks with low bridge clearances, particularly in the Red River Delta and the Mekong Delta.

It is estimated that only about 3,100 billion VND is needed to renovate the embankment, straighten the channel, build embankments, and install buoys and signs for the section crossing the Luoc River. This will upgrade the East-West inland waterway transport route, allowing container barges to operate smoothly, directly connecting the Hai Phong and Quang Ninh seaport clusters with economic centers, industrial zones, and raw material areas deep inland, at a cost only one-third of road transport costs.

Professor Bui Thien Thu believes that it is time to be more urgent and decisive in restructuring transportation methods, and even a revolution in transportation operations is needed.

The focus of this revolution is the shift from a model heavily reliant on road transport to a balanced development that prioritizes increasing the market share of rail and inland waterway transport – modes with lower fuel costs, greater stability, and suitability for transporting large volumes of goods over long distances.

“If we reduce the proportion of investment in road infrastructure by 2-3% per year, it will not significantly impact transportation efficiency. However, if we increase investment in waterway transport by an additional 2-3% per year (reaching approximately 5-7% of total investment in the transportation sector), it will have a very strong impact on the growth of inland waterway transport, bringing enormous economic benefits to the nation, because the average cost per ton-kilometer of road transport is 3 to 5 times higher than that of inland waterway transport,” the Vice President of VAPO shared.

Furthermore, it is necessary to accelerate the formation of a multimodal logistics system that effectively connects seaports, railways, roads, and logistics centers, thereby reducing transshipment costs and optimizing the supply chain. Investing in dedicated railway lines connecting seaports and industrial zones, as well as developing container transport via inland waterways, should be considered strategic breakthroughs.

“In the long term, Vietnam also needs to promote energy transition in transportation towards the use of clean fuels, energy saving, and the application of smart transportation management technologies. This is not only a solution to cope with fuel price fluctuations, but also a foundation for enhancing the competitiveness of the national logistics system,” proposed Professor Bui Thien Thu.

Seven solutions for "greening" freight transport.

According to Mr. Le Do Muoi, Director of the Vietnam Maritime and Inland Waterway Administration (Ministry of Construction), in order to maximize the strategic potential of the maritime and inland waterway sector, reduce transportation costs, and contribute to the successful implementation of Resolution No. 36-NQ/TW dated October 22, 2018, of the Central Committee on the Strategy for Sustainable Development of Vietnam's Marine Economy, it is necessary to implement seven breakthrough solutions comprehensively and synchronously, based on the principle of leveraging synergistic strengths and close linkages.

Firstly, it is necessary to improve institutions and policies, prioritizing research into consolidating the Vietnamese Maritime Code and the Law on Inland Waterway Traffic; building a unified legal framework for different modes of transport; promoting decentralization and delegation of power; perfecting mechanisms for pricing, fees, and technical standards associated with digital transformation and green transformation; and implementing strong incentive policies to attract investment through the PPP (Public-Private Partnership) model.

Secondly, develop an integrated maritime and waterway planning within the overall water transport system, with seaports as the central hub; ensuring consistency with the national master plan and local plans.

Thirdly, prioritize addressing bottlenecks in waterways, increasing bridge clearance, and developing inland waterway ports in the Mekong Delta and the Red River Delta.

Fourth, develop multimodal transport linked to the formation of logistics corridors connecting seaports with production centers through inland ports, waterways, and a combination of rail and road transport.

Fifth, develop the fleet and shipbuilding industry by strengthening support for modernization and greening of the fleet; prioritizing large container ships and specialized vessels; and restructuring the shipbuilding industry towards modernization and high added value.

Sixth, promote digital transformation and green transformation by fostering green ports and smart ports through the comprehensive application of Industry 4.0 technologies (IoT, AI, Big Data) in port management and operation to optimize processes, and applying smart flow management technology (WIS) to inland waterways to improve overall operational efficiency.

Seventh, prioritize public investment resources in dredging waterways, improving bridge clearance, investing in key infrastructure, and effectively utilizing public investment capital to drive development.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/gia-toc-moi-cho-cuoc-dai-co-cau-lai-cac-phuong-thuc-van-tai-d553250.html