Logistics services in Myanmar.

Myanmar logistics overview: modes, trade and gateways

Goods move in and out of Myanmar by sea, air, rail, and road. The country has about 1,930 km of coastline, around 7 ports, and 3 oil terminals, giving options for ocean shipments of containerized and bulk cargo. Key ports include Bassein, Mergui, Moulmein Harbor, Rangoon, and Sittwe.

Air freight uses a network of 74 airports, with 17 handling scheduled services, including Mandalay, Nay Pyi Taw, Yangon, Dawei, and Heho. Rail covers about 5,031 km and connects to several ports such as Bassein and Yangon (Rangoon). Cross-border road freight is possible with Bangladesh, China, India, Laos, and Thailand, supporting regional trucking and multimodal routings.

When choosing freight forwarders in Myanmar, shippers deal with a system where the overall logistics performance index is about 2.3, below the world median of 2.7. Customs and infrastructure scores are also lower than the world medians, so experience in handling port and border processes is important.

Forwarders familiar with main sea gateways such as Rangoon / Yangon and Bassein can connect to container services from lines like ANL, APL, CMA CGM, CNC, COSCO, Emirates Shipping Line, Gold Star Line, HMM, Hapag-Lloyd, KMTC, MSC, and Maersk, all with offices in Yangon. Knowledge of trade with partners such as China, Thailand, Japan, Germany, India, Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia, and of ASEAN preferences and WTO rules, helps in routing and pricing export cargo like garments, natural gas, legumes, rare-earth metal compounds, and precious stones, as well as imports such as refined petroleum, synthetics, fertilizers, crude petroleum, and fabric.

Container shipping from Myanmar uses seaports including Bassein, Mergui, Moulmein Harbor, Rangoon / Yangon, and Sittwe. The country handled about 782,951 TEU in 2024, ranking around 80 of 168 worldwide for container volume and 14 of 33 in East Asia & Pacific. All listed seaports are classified as small in the World Port Index.

Liner Shipping Connectivity Index for Myanmar stood at about 8.54 in 2021, ranking about 108 of 169 worldwide. Depths at main cargo piers reach about 13.7 m at Bassein and 13.0 m at Yangon (Rangoon), suitable for FCL and LCL operations handled by carriers with Yangon offices, including ANL, APL, CMA CGM, CNC, COSCO, Emirates Shipping Line, Gold Star Line, HMM, Hapag-Lloyd, KMTC, MSC, and Maersk.

Myanmar has 17 airports with scheduled commercial service. Main international gateways for air cargo include Mandalay International Airport (MDL), Nay Pyi Taw International Airport (NYT), Yangon International Airport (RGN), Dawei Airport (TVY), and Heho Airport (HEH). Air carriers moved about 9.9 million tonne-km of freight in 2023. Given exports of garments, precious stones, and rare-earth metal compounds, air freight in Myanmar is suited to higher-value or time-sensitive shipments where speed offsets higher transport cost.

Myanmar has about 5,031 km of railway, providing inland connections to ports such as Bassein and Yangon (Rangoon). Rail freight volume was about 885 million tonne-km in 2004, putting the country around 71 of 113 worldwide and 10 of 14 in the regional comparison.

By road, Myanmar borders Bangladesh, China, India, Laos, and Thailand, creating options for cross-border trucking and multimodal connections into East Asia & Pacific. The coastline of about 1,930 km links inland road and rail corridors to seaports including Bassein, Mergui, Moulmein Harbor, Rangoon, and Sittwe.

Myanmar is a member of the World Customs Organization since 1991 and belongs to the World Trade Organization and ASEAN. The average applied tariff is about 0.82 percent as of 2022. On the Logistics Performance Index, customs performance is about 2.17 compared with a world median of 2.6.

Export border compliance typically takes about 3 days and imports about 4 days, according to 2018 data. For customs clearance, shippers should expect to provide at least a commercial invoice, packing list, and transport document, coordinated with their freight forwarder or broker to match local procedures and ASEAN or WTO-related requirements.