Renewed congestion at Singapore and Colombo transhipment hubs, coupled with a surge in China-US trade and global port disruptions, is escalating costs and delays for Indian exporters, raising concerns over supply chain reliability.
Indian exporters are facing renewed disruption as congestion at transhipment centres in Singapore and Colombo slows the movement of containers and lifts costs across key trade lanes. Maritime Gateway reported that the problem is being aggravated by a shortage of feeder capacity linking Indian ports with major hubs, leaving shippers dependent on longer and less reliable routings.
Industry participants told Maritime Gateway that cargo which would normally move through nearby regional links is now being diverted through Singapore, where containers are waiting far longer than usual. A Chennai-based packaging producer said delays at Colombo and Singapore are already stretching into weeks, while feeder services from Port Klang to Chennai have not been consistently available. The result, exporters say, is a sharp deterioration in transit times and booking certainty.
The pressure is also being reinforced by a surge in China-US container demand. Maritime Gateway cited trade data showing Chinese exports to the US rose around 17% in July from a year earlier, with imports up 15%, drawing capacity towards the trans-Pacific market and tightening supply elsewhere. Drewry data showed freight rates on the Shanghai-Los Angeles route jumping 133% year on year to $5,894 last week, while the Shanghai-New York route rose 106% to $7,893.
Shipping lines, however, dispute the idea that a broad container shortage is the main issue. Sunil Vaswani, executive director at the Container Shipping Lines Association, told Maritime Gateway that congestion at transhipment ports, rather than a lack of boxes, was driving delays. Exporters paint a different picture, saying bookings are increasingly difficult to secure, space is often offered only on a tentative basis and carriers are adding new charges, including container imbalance fees.
The disruption is not confined to one corridor. Exporters in Cochin, Tuticorin and Chennai have all reported longer waits and volatile rates, according to Maritime Gateway, while tea traders in Cochin have warned that perishable cargo is becoming harder to place on mainline services. The Financial Express also reported that the Federation of Indian Export Organisations has raised the issue with India’s commerce ministry, warning that shipping lines are skipping some Indian calls as capacity is pulled towards busier routes.
That strain is being compounded by wider turmoil in global shipping. Maritime Gateway said the continued conflict involving Iran has disrupted traffic through Jebel Ali, adding another layer of uncertainty to regional supply chains. At the same time, GTRI has warned in the Financial Express that Indian exporters could face another container crunch if trade tensions between the US and China intensify further, leaving businesses to contend with higher freight bills, slower schedules and more unpredictable access to vessels.
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