A study of the freight forwarding industry in Hong Kong

Abstract

This paper reports the results of a study of the freight forwarding industry in Hong Kong. A survey questionnaire was administered to over 1,100 companies in the industry, examining their demographic profiles, capability in providing different types of logistics services, service performance and the perceived prospects of the industry. Based on 221 valid survey responses, the study results show that the industry consists mainly of small and medium-sized companies (i.e. number of employees ≤50). Furthermore, freight forwarding services contribute more than 60% of revenue in over 70% of the respondent companies. While many freight forwarders in Hong Kong are highly capable of providing freight forwarding and many traditional logistics services, they seem to lack the ability to provide other value-added services. Nevertheless, their self-assessments indicate that they perform well in different logistics services and that they are inclined to transform themselves into third-party logistics providers. A discussion of the findings and implications of the results are provided.

Acknowledgements

This study was partially supported under a research grant (project code: A630) from the Area of Strategic Development in China Business Services (Logistics and Maritime Studies) by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. The authors are grateful to K. K. Ko for his assistance in data collection and two anonymous referees for their constructive comments on an earlier version of this paper.