Malaysia’s Logistics Market is in the growing stage, being driven by rising demand from manufacturing industries. There are several players in the Malaysia Logistics market some of which are DHL, TASCO, Nippon Express, CEVA, DB Schenker, Kuehne + Nagel, Tiong Nam, UPS, and FedEx.

Strengthening the connectivity in North–South of the West Coast and East Coast Corridor by the government of Malaysia will boost the efficiency of road transportation in the country.

Rapidly modernizing retail, e-commerce, and a growing automotive sector to provide opportunities for contract logistics and express providers.

Demand for Pharmaceutical products along with FMCG and Food products during the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the high growth of Land Transportation during 2020.

Improving Road Transportation and Warehousing Infrastructure: As major players adopt robotics technology, the warehousing industry will see an increase in the use of technology and automation. EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology will aid in efficient inventory management.

To enhance the technological capacity of the logistic market the Malaysian government’s investments and initiatives in infrastructure connecting the country with Lao PDR and various parts of China would fuel the future growth of road and rail freight services.

High Demand for Road and Sea Transportation: Road Transport in Malaysia is the most preferred mode of transportation and will continue to be so in 2027F. Water transportation is also expected to grow in the future as high infrastructure investment is undertaken by the government to improve the state of maritime logistics in the country.

Demand for Road transportation from manufacturing sector, FMCG companies, and automotive players is rapidly increasing in Malaysia due to increasing production capacities by top players in the country. Moreover, many new players are expected to enter the market while the existing players are expected to expand their current revenue share.

As the Covid-19 pandemic shuttered physical stores throughout the country, consumers and businesses alike had little choice but to turn to online marketplaces, resulting in a major boost for e-commerce.

According to analytics company GlobalData, sales through e-commerce sites in Malaysia amounted to RM31.9 billion in 2021.

It has been estimated that the country’s e-commerce market will register an annual growth of 16.1% from 2022 to reach a total value of RM69.3 billion in 2026.

However, the fulfilment of online purchases is not possible without a reliable logistics ecosystem to deliver goods to consumers.

A total of 11 new transport and logistics projects have been introduced to ensure the development of a sustainable and resilient national infrastructure, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Monday.

The projects in question are the construction of Pan Borneo Highway Sabah’s Phase 1B, the Penang Light Rail Transit (LRT) project, expansion of the Penang International Airport, redevelopment of the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang, and the upgrade of the East-West Highway from Gerik, Perak to Jeli, Kelantan.

The government also developed the expansion of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and intra-city bus services, including in Johor Bahru and the Klang Valley, upgrading the Senai-Desaru Highway, widening of the North-South Expressway (from Yong Peng to North Senai) in phases, construction of the Sarawak-Sabah Link Road II, and upgrading the road from Tanah Rata to Kea Farm in Cameron Highlands.

“In addition, the development of a new port on Carey Island is expected to strengthen Port Klang as a regional shipping hub.

“The government will also improve transport infrastructure maintenance works to extend the lifespan of roads, rail assets and air navigation equipment,” Anwar said in Parliament when presenting the Mid-Term Review of the 12th Malaysia Plan (2021-2025).

Relevant legistative action will be taken by the Philippines Government to enact a new Independent  body which will be responsible for all transport safety and security matters in the country.

The new body, the mandate for its establishment is derived under the recently-issued Philippines Development Plan (2023-2028) (PDP) will become the central body for all issues relating to safety and security matters affecting the transportation sector which are currently dispersed over several agencies.

The PDP document  says all transport safety and security matters under a independent body which will among others, investigate transport accidents and provide transport safety recommendations, thereby eliminating conflicting and overlapping functions of existing agencies or entities.

Department of Transportation will be tasked to develop the relevant law for creation of the national body, identified as priority bills of the 19th Congress during the Plan period to expand and upgrade infrastructure.

The Philippines Government has proposed that a National Transportation Master Plan will be formulated to guide the development of an intermodal transport infrastructure network that takes into consideration compatibility, economic feasibility, comparative advantages, climate risks, and linkages of desired transportation modes.

According to the recently-related Philippine Development Plan (2023-2028), which, h incorporates the President’s 8-Point Socio-Economic Agenda, baseline data and information will be regularly collected, updated, consolidated, and managed.

President Ferdinand R Marcos JR, in his foreword in the 5-year development plan, said the Agenda seeks to address both short-term issues and medium-term constraints to growth and inclusion.

The 5-year Development Plan added the intermodal transport facilities will be constructed and upgraded to achieve seamless connectivity.

Among the measures proposed include:

• Last mile connectivity through active transport shall be enhanced to improve access to transit stations and encourage mass transportation usage.
• Design standards for transit stations and interchanges shall be adopted with emphasis on convenient transfers, high levels of service, universal accessibility, gender inclusivity, and sustainability.
• The standards and regulation for a national automated fare collection system shall be adopted to establish interoperability across all transport modes.
• Active transport networks will be developed.
• Pedestrians and cyclists will be accorded highest priority in the hierarchy of road users.
• Applicable mass transportation systems (i.e., railways, road-based, and ferry systems) will be developed in metropolitan areas.
• Mass transportation systems will be prioritized. The roll-out of the planned rail infrastructure projects will be pursued aggressively.
• Railways will be expanded from north to south and from east to west, connecting growth nodes and strategic infrastructure. Inter-city rails will be built in metropolitan regions across the country.
• Policies will be adopted to ensure availability of highly specialized spare parts and supplies.. Existing ferry systems will be upgraded and other coastal and inland waterways transport systems will be established as an alternative

The Philippines Congress is expected to convene a legislative process to discuss the enactment of the National Transport Policy Act.

The proposed Act aims to help achieve a safe, secure, efficient, competitive, dependable, integrated, environmentally sustainable, and people-oriented Philippine transportation system.

The proposed Act will set forth policies that will serve as boundary conditions to guide all entities involved in the transportation sector in the exercise of their functions, including the creation of metropolitan transit authorities, and clarifying the roles and responsibilities of national and local governments.

According to the recently-released 5-year Philippines Development Plan (2023-2028) the oversight agencies which will be engaged inclded the Department of Transportation (DOTr), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

President Ferdinand R Marcos Jr has ordered the creation of the International Advisory Council on Global Maritime Affairs to address deficiencies identified by the EU concerning Filipino seafarers.

This follows the President’s visit to Brussels, Belgium in December, 2022 where he met European industry officials with a view to addressing the deficiencies to prevent job loss among Filipino seafarers deployted to work for European Union flagged vessels.

Marcos issued the directive during a meeting with International Maritime Employers’ Council CEO Francisco Gargiulo, the International Chamber of Shipping, the International Labor Organization and EMSA and several business executives and leaders of European shipping companies and shipowners associations in Brussels last December 13, 2022.

Denmark has welcomed the assurance by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s that the Philippines will address the noncompliance issues identified by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) audit.

In a Facebook post, Danish Ambassador to The Philippines, Franz-Michael Mellbin, said Denmark is happy with Filipino maritime professionals and that the Danish government reaffirms its support for the Philippine maritime industry’s efforts to comply with international maritime standards as set by the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) Convention.

With Danish shipping companies being one of the major employers of more than 10,000 Filipino seafarers, President Marcos’ assurance on the Philippine government’s intention to resolve the certification issue during his recent trip to Belgium is a very welcome development, Ambassador Mellbin said.

Earlier this year, EMSA flagged the Philippines for deficiencies in local seafarer education, training and certification.

He said that failure to comply would be a great loss to the maritime industry and the Philippines.