The shipping industry is stepping up efforts to build steel containers outside China, lining up the spare capacity needed to shield a key component of global trade from supply chain pressures and geopolitical rifts.Manufacturers and government bodies are developing factories across Asia and the US to mitigate an over-reliance on China that some blame for trade disruption during the coronavirus pandemic.

Owners of new factories in Vietnam said they could eventually build around a sixth of the steel boxes typically produced in a year, while sizeable capacity is also expected to be added in India.

At present, more than 95 per cent of containers are made in the world’s second-largest economy, according to maritime consultancy Drewry, with the market dominated by three state-owned enterprises.