By Jennifer Chang.     Photo：Paparazzi Ratzfatzzi

In recent years, many companies have relocated their overseas production  supply chains to Southeast Asia. The reasons for this trend include lower labor costs, tax incentives, government support, and other factors. With these companies' relocation, related logistics and freight services will also move accordingly. Therefore, it is common for freight agents to be located where the goods are. When the location of product manufacturing changes, the corresponding logistics and freight services also need to be adjusted to ensure that the goods can be delivered to the destination on time.  As a result, the establishment of freight forwarders and logistics services in Southeast Asia is becoming increasingly important to meet the growing demand. This trend may also lead to many new opportunities and challenges. For example, many companies may need to re-evaluate their supply chain strategies to ensure that they can remain competitive in this changing environment. At the same time, logistics and freight forwarders  will also need to continuously improve their services and technologies to meet customer needs and maintain a competitive edge.

In 2023, most people are optimistic about the performance of the emerging markets in Asia as the borders of various countries are gradually lifted and an explosive wave of travel emerges. As the conflict between the U.S. and China continues to flare up and the supply chain continues to shift orders, Southeast Asian markets will benefit directly from the flow of overseas direct investment into the ASEAN and Indian markets. According to the latest report of the World Bank, the economic growth rate in 2023 is estimated to be only 0.5% in the U.S., zero growth in the Eurozone, and 1% growth in Japan. On the contrary, emerging markets will have a growth rate of 3.4%, which is twice the global growth rate, and the locomotive of which is emerging Asia, driven by India, China and ASEAN countries.

India, the world's second most populous country, is expected to grow at a rate of 6.9% in 2022 and is expected to grow at a high rate of 6.6% in 2023, the highest among the world's major countries. India's strategic economic location between East Asia and West Asia, with excellent connections to Central Asia, West Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia by both sea and land, makes it an advantageous location to serve all of Asia. China's economic growth rate in 2023 will not be as high as India's, but with the world's second largest economy, it will have a greater impact on the global economy than even India. Last year, under high social pressure, China's epidemic control was greatly relaxed and even downgraded,  domestic economic activity to quickly return to normal. Emerging Asia, besides India and China, another important driver in 2023 is the ASEAN countries such as Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. Indonesia will benefit from the export of raw materials. Thailand is also expected to benefit from China's unlocking of tourism, which will lead to a revival of tourism growth in 2023. Vietnam, once known as the mini-China of Southeast Asia, is benefiting as multinational companies seeking to diversify continue to shift manufacturing facilities from China to other countries, giving it the potential to become a major manufacturing center in the world.

With international trade slowing, ocean freight rates at a two-and-a-half year low, and the number of idle container ships worldwide near the highest point since the outbreak began, it's a good time for vessels to enter the dockyard for repairs. But Bloomberg Shipping data shows that a large portion of the idle fleet is clustered around ports in mainland China, as well as in Indonesia and Malaysia, which are near Singapore's bulk ports and are major global trade routes. Owners will berth idle cargo ships where they expect demand to rebound fastest, near major export ports, so they are ready to depart. Overall, the entire emerging Asian economy is expected to benefit from India and China, albeit to varying degrees.

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