DHL Global Forwarding foresees a strong and sustained growth in cross-border road transportation in Southeast Asia where the e-commerce sector is expected to grow 5.5% in 2021. The predicted upswing is also driven by the renewed growth in many of Southeast Asia's leading economies, as manufacturing rebounds and companies regionalize and diversify their supply chains. These trends are outlined in the whitepaper, "Southeast Asia Freight: The Road to Growth".

"With the easing of trade restrictions and implementation of new regulatory initiatives in the region such as the ASEAN Customs Transit System and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, trade cooperation will continue to strengthen and bolster intra-Asia trade. This augurs well for ASEAN countries as they gear up to bounce back strongly from the Covid-19 pandemic," said Kelvin Leung, CEO, DHL Global Forwarding Asia Pacific.

With East Asian economies expected to drive trade growth in 2021, the ASEAN road freight market is expected to witness a CAGR of greater than 8% during the forecasted period of 2020-2025. The rise in e-commerce consumer spending and B2B e-commerce, which is predicted to see a 70% increase by 2027, is also pushing demand for door-to-door logistics solutions.

"Road freight is now playing a more significant role in international long-haul solutions across Asia as it offers a cost effective and sustainable option. As we have seen in the last year with volatile air and ocean freight rates during the Covid-19 pandemic, road or multimodal solutions have offered more stable pricing, capacity, and easier border access in Southeast Asia," said Thomas Tieber, CEO, DHL Global Forwarding Southeast Asia.