Freight Transport Challenges in Vietnam’s Southeast Region

The Southeast area of Vietnam is regarded as the country’s economic locomotive since it has critical logistical infrastructure, handling the majority of the country’s goods and container traffic. Thus, there are stronger concerns than ever in freight transportation in this region, especially in the context of rising freight transport demand, as a good freight transport system plays an important role in improving economic efficiency while also maintaining urban sustainability. Yet, freight transport is still limited, not clearly understood or optimized on a large scale there. This paper adopts a qualitative, grounded theory methodology to explore urban freight transport challenges and evaluate the correlation of those issues in Vietnam’s Southeast region. To achieve the goal, an in-depth interview with authorities and specialists in transportation, logistics, and other stakeholders was undertaken, as well as a review of the literature. The findings reveal that infrastructure is the biggest challenge for freight transport in Vietnam’s Southeast area. Other obstacles are also pointed and analyzed. Several policy implications for sustainable transport planning will also be discussed based on this research.