Prime Freight’s summary of an April 2022 report by The Loadstar. Read the original for the full story.
In April 2022 The Loadstar reported that inland container depots in Chittagong were running out of space as Bangladesh’s apparel exports grew.
Exporters said buyers were moving orders from competing countries such as China, Vietnam and Cambodia because Bangladesh had proved comparatively reliable. Large forwarders had been visiting depots to ask whether they could take more export work, but the depot association said most had no spare capacity. The Chittagong depots, which handle almost all outbound containers before loading, processed a record 70,773 TEU of exports in March, compared with about 62,500 in February and 67,100 in January. One depot that normally handled more imports than exports set its own export record.
The garment exporters’ association said buyer confidence had grown because factories kept supplying through the pandemic, even at a loss. Separately, the port authority fully digitised its delivery order system from 1 April, cutting the time to issue a release order to about ten minutes, including at weekends.
What it meant for shippers
When depots fill up, export cargo waits longer before reaching the vessel. For Bangladesh-origin shipments in 2022, booking depot handling and vessel space early helped keep cargo moving in busy periods.