The north-south transport journeys usually use trucks of over 8 tons. According to one sales staff of Transport 24h Co.Ltd, the reason is that the total expense of one long day journey involves toll fee, driver’s salary, travel allowance, petrol and so forth. Therefore, using light trucks will not offset high expenses of transport journeys, partly reducing companies’ revenues. Besides, customers prefer affordable transport services so the method of goods consolidation is their first choice. Goods will be ensured 100% their quality but customers only have to pay half or a third of the expenses of full truckload shipping.

The consolidation shipment is a popular method to transport goods from Hanoi to Dong Thap, Vinh Long and Tra Vinh. The transport journey was divided into two stages with three main routes as follows:

·        National Route 1A: goods dispatch from Hanoi to HCMC.

·        HCMC – Trung Lương Expressway and Route 1A: goods transport from HCMC to Dong Thap.

·        HIghway 54: cargo shipment from Dong Thap to Vinh Long, Tra Vinh.

Highway 54 of over 150 km runs along Hau River and connects Vam Cong Ferry (Dong Thap) with Long An and Tra Vinh City so it is the main route running through the Cuu Long River Delta. The number of vehicles on this route is increasingly high, especially trucks with heavy load. This makes the road surface quality reduce and may not meet the rising demand for traffic, which partly affect the safety of vehicles running on this route. With the width of about 6km, there is frequent congestion happening on Highway 54. To curb this situation, in 2015 the Ministry of Traffic and Transportation has decided to upgrade and renovate Highway 54 with the average speed of 60 km/h.

The upgrade will not only enhance the transport capacity but also stimulate the economic and social development of Dong Thap Province and connect it with Vinh Long and Tra Vinh. The upgrade project of Highway 54 will be implemented in the near future. When being into use, Highway 54 will connect with Highway 80, Ho Chi Minh Road and link effectively the provinces of Cuu Long River Delta, creating a substantial traffic system ./.