News / Shortage of 40ft containers hampering Bangladesh shipments

© Alexey Novikov

The acute shortage of 40ft high-cube containers has been hampering the shipment of export cargo from Bangladesh, with MSC and Hapag Lloyd among the major liner operators trying to reposition equipment from nearby ports.

The situation has been exacerbated by the congestion at Singapore, where hundreds of Bangladesh-bound containers are stranded, due to berthing delays, stakeholders claimed.

Also, a significant numbers of 40ft containers are stuck at Chittagong port, as importers are not collecting their boxes because of the Eid holidays.

Ruhul Amin Sikder, secretary general of the Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association, said the depots had experienced carrier-wide shortages of 40ft boxes.

“Some carriers have adequate equipment supply, while some have severe crises,” he told The Loadstar.

Mr Sikder said the majority of Bangladeshi exports are shipped by in 40ft containers, while imports are mainly carried in 20ft boxes.

“Carriers which bring imports from Europe and America have been facing equipment shortages,” he said, and an MSC Bangladesh official added: “Yes, we are repositioning equipment to meet the 40ft container requirement.”

He added that almost all the shipping lines serving Bangladesh had been facing an equipment shortage, which won’t end, said another official of a large box line, “until the congestion at Singapore normalises”.