With the Philippines’ rapid economic growth, logistics has become the name of the game. This is seen in the growth of third party logistics (3PL) companies which cater to the outsourced logistics needs of various industries. Also evident is the growth of online retail sales through the e-Commerce platform where orders have to be delivered immediately.

But owing to the narrow, traffic-choked streets in the metropolis coupled with a truck ban during certain hours of the day, the increasing trend right now is small truck logistics. The large trucks, most of them wing vans, continue to transport the goods from the ports to the warehouses. The small trucks take it from there.

Centro Manufacturing Corporation sales manager Vic Belisario explains that there is a steady increase in small truck logistics in recent years. “We have noticed an increase in demand for these small trucks, in particular the Tata Ace and Super Ace. We know this because we produce the closed van aluminum bodies for Tata and the demand has been steadily increasing. We also observe an increasing demand for small trucks used as food carts to cater to the needs of the food parks and tiangges that are getting popular”.


Since Tata was introduced in the Philippines in 2014, the response of the Philippine market has been very positive, says Art Balmadrid, Vice President and General Manager of Pilipinas Taj Autogroup, the local distributor of Tata vehicles in the Philippines.

He explains that Tata Motors’ vehicles have been in great demand in the Philippines since 2014. “The low cost of ownership and availability of diesel vehicles are what make our cars, utility vehicles and cargo vehicles an integral part of the country’s transport sector. The Philippines has become home to a wide range of our cars, pick-ups, and trucks, and is now an important market for Tata in the Asia Pacific region”.

“Tata’s affordability coupled with its durability has won over many new customers”, he adds. “Small truck logistics has increased mainly because of the rise of single-item deliveries which are now becoming more prevalent with the rise of online commerce. This new form of merchandising by companies such as Lazada and OLX uses small truck logistics which is more efficient for their needs”.

Centro COO Jerryme Garcia reveals that in congested cities such as in Metro Manila, it makes more sense to use smaller vehicles to ferry goods around. “You are not really that mobile if you use big trucks especially in Metro Manila’s traffic. Small truck logistics is seen a lot in developed countries like Japan and Korea and even in our neighboring countries such as Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia”.