Indonesia’s logistics costs remain slightly higher than other Southeast Asian countries.
According to calculations by the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), logistics costs in Indonesia reached 14.29 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2023.
The World Bank recorded the figure at 23.8 percent in 2018.
The implementation of mobility restrictions on freight transport during the 2025 Eid al-Fitr homecoming and return period—spanning 16 days from Mar. 24 to Apr. 8—aimed at ensuring the safety and security of travelers has caused logistics costs to rise further.
Although freight companies were still permitted to operate, they had to comply with technical road requirements concerning load capacity, cargo volume, vehicle dimensions, and transport documentation.
Researcher Joewono Soemardjito at the Center for Transportation and Logistics Studies at Universitas Gadjah Mada (Pustral UGM) explained that the policy of limiting freight operations is intended to ensure the safety of travelers.
However, he emphasized that the government must carefully assess the policy’s impact on business actors.
“It would be wise for the government to listen to input from logistics and goods distribution service providers in order to anticipate its impact on their operational costs and business continuity and to develop solutions if the impact is predicted to be significant,” he said on Thursday (Apr. 10).
Soemardjito also suggested that, before implementing restrictions on freight operations, the government should conduct thorough checks on the availability of goods—especially basic necessities—during the restriction period to ensure that supply conditions remain secure.
“If the policy to limit freight operations does not run effectively, parties may suffer losses due to its impact,” he added.
Moreover, the government is urged to ensure the balance of supply and demand for goods at the consumer level throughout the restriction period.
Considering Indonesia’s archipelagic geography, where inter-regional and inter-island supply and demand interdependencies remain high, effective coordination and collaboration between the government and relevant business actors is essential.
In addition, sound planning of goods distribution at the company level is necessary to maintain supply-demand equilibrium.
Lastly, incentives could be directed toward measures that help stabilize commodity prices at the community level or toward operational cost relief for businesses and regional warehouse facilities to secure stock during the restriction period.
Soemardjito further suggested that freight transport restrictions could be applied based on time slots, such as limiting operations to specific hours or restricting the freight fleets, allowing only those with smaller loads.
This approach could help prevent traffic conflicts between freight transport and passenger vehicles.
Author: Kezia Dwina Nathania
Editor: Gusti Grehenson
Post-editor: Afifudin Baliya
Image: Freepik