US logistics firm looks to expand Asia-Pacific footprint through Vietnam

Michigan-headquartered Lineage Logistics, an international warehousing and logistics company, said Saturday it has partially closed a joint venture arrangement with Hanoi-based cold storage warehouse operator SK Logistics.

“Vietnam is an important market for Lineage and partnering with a reliable and proven operator like SK Logistics will help us continue delivering excellence in supply chain solutions in the Asia Pacific region,” Brooke Miller, Lineage’s Asia Pacific president said in a release.

She said expanding Lineage’s footprint in the Asia Pacific through Vietnam, which is a significant economic contributor in the region, continues to be a long-term strategic goal for her company.

“Partnering with SK Logistics is a remarkable opportunity for us to continue delivering world class cold storage solutions in the region alongside a proud and thriving family business.

“These facilities serve a wide range of customers, including supermarket chains that provide food for families across the region,” she noted.

The U.S. company, also an industrial real estate investment trust (REIT), did not disclose financial terms of the transaction.

Vietnamese company SK Logistics operates three cold storage warehouses – two in Hanoi and one in nearby Hung Yen province, according to its website. These facilities offer storage, distribution, stamping, weighing, classification, packing and picking services.

Lineage now has integrated assets and supply chain solutions in both the northern and southern ends of Vietnam, with facilities in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

The company says its global network has over 400 strategically located facilities, totalling nearly 2 billion cubic feet of capacity across countries in North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific.

Meanwhile, in the southern province of Long An near HCMC, Japanese refrigerated warehousing business Yokorei is constructing a $52 million refrigerated warehouse on a 4.5-hectare site as its first investment in Vietnam.

Yokorei received its investment certificate late last month. The project expects to start a trial run in next year’s third quarter and open for commercial operations by March 2025.

According to global property services company Cushman & Wakefield, Vietnam's cold storage logistics industry is poised to achieve a market value over $440 million by 2025. It also says that despite the rapid expansion potential, the cold storage sector remains far below its full potential.