While the above priority recommendations (and those of the report at large) accurately reflect the sentiment of major freight stakeholders, key further ave- nues for research and engagement are suggested. These include (1) a better understanding of Vietnam’s opaque trucking industry (asset and nonasset based) and the root causes that impede its modernization at a faster pace; (2) detailed return-on-investment analyses for on-dock rail and similar investments that may contribute to a larger role of rail intermodal in the country’s freight mix; (3) an analysis of the nature of the ideal role the GoV should play, if any, in elevating the logistics management capacity of small and medium-sized shippers (particularly domestic); and (4) the drivers, market sizing, bottlenecks, and policies for development of the warehousing/integrated logistics (e.g., logistics parks) sector. Although this list is far from exhaustive, its components reflect another logistics bottleneck in Vietnam: the lack of detailed data gathering and research that can shed light on key issues and submarkets in logistics, and the lack of formal avenues of engagement between public and private sector actors. Improvements on this front, through, for example, the introduction of a National Logistics Committee (which can be modeled in those established by regional peers Malaysia and Thailand) and/or a National Logistics Observatory (particu- larly for data gathering at the corridor level) can contribute to competitiveness
by facilitating public and public-private decision making.