A 48 hour limit on driving hours for truck drivers outlined in the 2024 Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety is gaining traction as an issue among local logistics firms.
The Hanoi Logistics Association has argued that this limit, lower than those in the EU and US, will reduce drivers’ income by 20-30 percent, decrease transport productivity, and push up freight rates by 20-25 percent, according to comments cited by VN Express.
Similarly, Dien Dan is carrying comments from Phan Thanh Uy, General Secretary of the Vietnam Automobile Transport Association, who suggests this might exacerbate the current driver shortages. The publication also points out that a 10 hours a day driving limit is also insufficient to cover the distance of many key routes. For context, it also notes that a distance of 300 kilometres can take up to 10 hours.
Concerns have also been raised with respect to container shipping. VOV has comments from an anonymous source in the container shipping industry as saying that, at least in southern Vietnam, this could significantly increase costs.
See also: Logistics in Vietnam