Faced with an acute shortage of sea containers, exporters in Tirupur are shifting to air transport to ensure their garments reach the marked destinations before Christmas and New Year. Though this may increase their shipment charges significantly, exporters are willing to absorb these costs rather than losing clients by failing to deliver on time.

The global container trade has been hugely impacted by the pandemic, the Suez Canal blockage in March, suspension of operations at China’s Yantian port in June, and the recent typhoon in China. This has resulted in huge congestions at certain ports in the US, Europe and China, causing a major shortage of containers. Exporters don't have a choice but to pay ten times the cost to transport by air, says Raja M Shanmugham, President, Tirupur Exporters’ Association.

CMN Muruganandan, Partner, Gomatha International, Tirupur adds container shortage is forcing companies to bear the additional costs of air transport. If they fail to ship their garments, clients will source from other countries, like China, Taiwan or Vietnam. This will badly hurt the industry, he adds.