Asia Pacific Transportation, Logistics Mart To Grow At 7.6 Per Cent CAGR In 2016

SINGAPORE, Feb 23 (Bernama) -- Frost & Sullivan is forecasting the Asia Pacific transportation & logistics market of 12 countries (Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, India, Malaysia, Thailand, China, Vietnam and Indonesia) to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.6 per cent (2011-2016) to reach US$4.09 trillion in 2016. Its vice president for Transportation & Logistics Practice Asia Pacific R. Gopal said that sea freight is the key transport mode for freight movement in Asia Pacific, handling more than 60 per cent of total freight traffic in the 12 countries researched. He forecasts total cargo volumes in Asia Pacific (12 countries) to increase 5.1 per cent year-on-year to 19.67 billion tonnes in 2012. "Logistics end-users are becoming much more sophisticated and demand more from their service providers, while customers want more visibility in supply chain from their logistics service providers to optimise inventory, improve forecasting, increase communication and establish smoother supply chains. "With the rising awareness of green issue globally, industry players will need to co-ordinate sustainable logistics practice in a way that meets customer requirements at minimum cost," he said when announcing its forecast here. Gopal pointed that greening logistics operations include lower CO2 emission, more efficient use of fuel and also cutbacks in consumption of power, water, paper andother commodities. He noted that Japan’s earthquake and Thailand’s flooding last year have demonstrated the vulnerability of supply chains and the importance of risk management. “With rising awareness of the cost of supply chain disruptions, companies are looking at re-designing the supply chain and focus intensively on calculating risk,” he said. Gopal said shorter supply chains allow companies to monitor production and respond faster to demand fluctuations as well as to production problems that emerge. He added that many countries such as Hong Kong, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand and Indonesia are ambitious at positioning themselves as a regional logistics hub. -- BERNAMA