Red Sea conflict plunges Bangladesh garment makers into the red

DHAKA -- Bangladesh's garment industry faces surging freight rates, longer lead times and container shortages as spillover effects from fighting in the Red Sea, just months after the sector was roiled by protests over wages and subsequent factory closures.

More than 65% of the South Asian nation's multibillion-dollar garment exports are destined for Europe and the U.S. through the fastest and most efficient Red Sea-Suez Canal route. Two months after Iran-backed Houthi forces from Yemen started attacking container ships in the Red Sea in November, the U.S. and U.K. have retaliated, forcing the world's biggest shippers to divert from the crucial trade route.