Global logistic issues have prompted Turkish exporters to pack and send their goods in wooden boxes, instead of traditional freight containers due to a global squeeze.

Trade’s rebound from the coronavirus pandemic is being blunted by the ongoing shortage of shipping containers, as well as limited space in vessels.

The shortage has sent cargo costs to record highs and hampered manufacturers in filling fast-recovering global goods orders.

This prompted Turkish exporters to look for various solutions to the skyrocketing cost increases and respond to their orders.

A Turkish marble firm from western Turkey’s Denizli province has come up with wooden boxes to solve the disruptions, as it looked for ways to ship its goods to its main market, the United States.

Around 11 tons of processed marble, which would normally be sent within 400 containers, have been recently shipped to the U.S. via a bulk freighter in wooden boxes with a pallet-like design.

This marked the first time exports to the U.S. were made within wooden boxes, DN Mermer Chairperson Murat Yener said.

The company sells 90% of its marble production to more than 80 countries with three factories, two marble quarries and about 600 employees in Denizli.

"We are proving that Turkish marble is the best brand in the world with our showroom, warehouse and sales network established in the U.S., especially in Miami, and other countries," Yener told Anadolu Agency (AA).

"The container crisis and rising shipping costs have made it difficult for us to compete with our competitors abroad," he noted.

"Instead of a container ship, we made a groundbreaking application in the industry and made the shipment by bulk cargo ship."

A block of exports was earlier sent to Egypt as bulk, said Denizli Miners and Marble Association (DENMERDER) Chairperson Serdar Sungur.

But he stressed it was the first time processed goods were exported in wooden boxes, saying that they expect the application to become widespread.