Bangladesh market update - 13/08/24

Business is returning to normal after three weeks of student protests across Bangladesh. Garment and non garment factories are now fully operational again, however the transport of products from factories to different parts of the country has not regained momentum yet.

Ocean market update

The container congestion resulting from delivery disruptions in late July and early August is starting to ease, but it may take 7-10 days to return to normal levels.

Chattogram Port and private Inland Container Depots (ICDs) are seeing a marked improvement in container operations.

As of 8 August, the number of containers stacked in the port yards had dropped to 42,768 TEUs, down from 44,117 TEUs on 6 August. Although this remains above the usual 32,000-33,000 TEUs, the situation is improving.

Container handling has also seen a rise, with 7,119 TEUs handled in the 24 hours between 8 am on 8 August and 8 am on 9 August, compared to 6,309 TEUs in the previous 24 hours.

There are currently 13,200 TEUs of export containers at the ICDs, above the usual 8,000-8,500 TEUs, while import containers awaiting delivery total 8,500 TEUs, which is normal.

As with other strategic ports across Asia, equipment availability is posing a challenge, with major carriers such as Hapag, MSC, Cosco, and One Line struggling to meet demand. This shortage is affecting numerous loading plans, which are on hold due to the lack of available containers.  Detailed picture on equipment challenges is outlined below:

Air market update

Dhaka Airport is currently experiencing severe congestion due to exceptionally high cargo volumes, leading to some goods being stored outside designated cargo areas due to limited flight availability. This accumulation of goods stems from several issues, including insufficient space within the cargo facilities and a shortage of cargo airlines, resulting in backlogs that have caused extensive congestion and lengthy truck queues. Additionally, our warehouse is facing significant congestion, with long lines of trucks delaying the unloading process. Offline carriers that rely on forwarding shipments via Biman (BG) are currently grappling with an equipment shortage.

As the political situation in Bangladesh is stabilising, it is expected that Indian airlines including Air India, Vistara, IndiGo will resume scheduled flights to Dhaka on Wednesday.