Nigeria Freight Forwarding Market Outlook to 2023

The report titled "Nigeria Freight Forwarding Market Outlook to 2023 – By Sea, Land, Air, Rail and Pipeline Freight; International and Domestic Freight, Integrated and Contract Logistics Freight Forwarding" provides a comprehensive analysis of the Freight forwarding market in Nigeria. The report covers the overall size and future outlook of Nigeria Freight Forwarding in terms of value, segmentation on the basis of service mix, by geography, by ownership and by type of industries. The report also covers the competitive landscape and company profiles of major Freight Forwarding companies. The report concludes with market projections for future and analyst recommendations highlighting the major opportunities and challenges.

Nigeria Freight Forwarding Market Overview and Size

Logistics is vital for the economic performance of any economy. Nigeria, like other African countries, has structural issues such as logistics infrastructure and cumbersome custom procedures at the seaports. In 2018, it ranked very low (131 out of 137) in terms of overall infrastructure and ranked 146 in the East of Doing Business Index. Nigeria Logistics Market has witnessed positive growth over the past few years and revived from recession in 2017. The growth was mainly due to government initiatives such as the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) by CCECC (China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation) and Development of ICD (Inland Container Depot) by the government in Nigeria. Nigeria’s huge oil and gas reserves make it a suitable destination for companies to invest.

Nigeria Freight Forwarding Market Segmentation

By Mode of Freight: Sea Transport dominated the freight forwarding market as the country is import oriented with almost all the products from consumer goods to electronic equipments imported from other foreign countries by sea. Major exporting products such as oil and petroleum products are transported by seaways only. Lagos Port Complex and Tincan Port Complex are two major seaports in Lagos. Road transport is important due to last mile delivery in e-commerce and transporting goods to other neighboring African countries but is suffering from poor condition of roads in the country. Air transport is not very popular in cargo transportation and used mostly for passenger transportation. Rail Transport is expected to grow with introduction of SGR in Nigeria.

By Domestic and International Freight:  The market share of International Freight has increased in comparison to domestic freight in the last few years. International Freight is dominant as Nigeria is import oriented country and export oil and petroleum products. Moreover, with the formation of the African Union and implementation of African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States), international trade of Nigeria is at an all time rise with other African Countries.

By Flow Corridors:  Over the past decade, Europe has replaced Asia as the major trading partner of Nigeria. Nigeria imports refined petroleum products and machinery from Europe and exports Cocoa beans, crude oil and shipping and floating structures. EU ECOWAS Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) is increasing the trade with all West African countries. Asian countries such as China and India are major trading partners with Nigeria. Majority of Nigeria’s imports and exports are transported by seaports in Lagos and less percentage by air.

By End Users: The major end users of freight forwarding services in Nigeria include the Food and Beverage, Industrial and retail sectors. The F&B sector also creates a demand for cold transportation for perishable items. Increasing Nigerian local food products in the country has triggered the demand for logistics and warehousing services. Products such as shipping structures, Machinery and home appliances are increasing the demand of logistics in the country.

By Contract and Integrated Logistics: Third Party Logistics in Nigeria has been thriving in the Nigeria Freight Forwarding Market. Nigerian freight forwarding market constitutes numerous small and medium enterprises. Due to infrastructural challenges, big market players prefer to outsource services to local transporters and focus on their core competencies. Companies do not wish to employ their own logistics arm since it involves capital investment and a lot of hassle.

Competitive Scenario

The Nigeria Freight Forwarding market is highly scattered with over 1,200 local freight forwarding companies registered under the Council for Freight Forwarders in Nigeria. While the international players are few, they control majority of Air freight and Sea freight forwarding market. Domestic companies dominate in road freight forwarding market with almost all local and regional transporters/truckers. The industry is at a growth stage in terms of parameters such as technology, efficiency and service portfolio but not pricing as the logistic cost is too high leading to contraction of manufacturing sector in the GDP. The cost for transporting 40ft container and 20 ft container to warehouses has increased 400% in past few years.

Future Outlook and Projections

The market is expected to grow at a positive double digit CAGR and the key growth drivers would include rising demand for products through online purchases which has augmented the E-commerce market. The increasing international trade volumes and domestic manufacturing are expected to increase the demand of freight forwarding services. The increasing year on year investment by the government of Nigeria on infrastructural and development projects such as Trans-African Highway (TAH), SGR, and improving the state of road, sea and air transport network is also witnessed to positively impact the market. Due to such reasons, new firms continue to enter the market despite any tariff or trade barriers.

Key Topics Covered in the Report:-

• Logistics Infrastructure in Nigeria
• Nigeria Freight Forwarding Market Overview
• Nigeria Freight Forwarding Market Size
• Nigeria Freight Forwarding Market Segmentation
• Competitive Scenario in Nigeria Freight Forwarding Market
• Company Profiles of Major Players in Nigeria Freight Forwarding Market
• Nigeria Freight Forwarding Market Future Outlook and Projections
• Nigeria Freight Forwarding Future Market Size
• Nigeria Freight Forwarding Market Future Segmentation
• Analyst Recommendations