Bangladesh’s exporters are facing severe equipment shortage, due to a mixed impact of the Chinese New Year linked import slowdown from China, the latest Covid related lockdowns in various Chinese provinces, and the Russian invasion in Ukraine. Shipping lines expect a further spike in container shortages in the coming weeks as the situation further worsens in China. The pandemic has been reported to spread to 21 provinces and municipalities including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Zhejiang, Jilin, Suzhou, and Guangzhou.
Though none of the ports are closed down due to the lockdowns in cities, operations are partly hampered due to a shortage of port workers, warehouses remained closed, and movement of vehicles is restricted creating disruption.
Bangladesh’s largest import suppliers are China and India, and if imports are severely interrupted as a result of the shutdown, the manufacturing sector will be severely short of raw materials and empty containers. Bangladeshi shippers primarily import 40-foot high cube empty containers to ship clothes to western countries.
MSC is the top importer of empty boxes in Bangladesh, followed by Hapag-Lloyd, Ocean Network Express (ONE), and CMA CGM, according to data. In January, MSC imported 1,201 FEU containers and 862 FEU in February. Major Europe and America bound operators are experiencing equipment shortages, according to Mohammad Ajmir Hossain Chowdhury, deputy general manager of MSC Bangladesh.
