Category: Coronavirus

For almost three years shippers, forwarders and carriers, across all modes, have battled unparalleled global supply chain disruptions and, as the massive consumer driven volumes finally subsides, some suggest that the “new normal” is manifesting on a global scale. The desire for norma... Read more

As Shanghai enters the fourth week of an indefinite lockdown, container shipping lines are skipping calls at main Shanghai terminals, with more blank sailings anticipated as vessels waiting at Chinese ports double. Until the lockdown situation is resolved, which appears challenging when puttin... Read more

China’s economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter, expanding 4.8%, but the risk of a sharp slowdown over coming months has risen as Shanghai’s lockdown is extended indefinitely and further COVID-19 curbs may follow.  Nearly all of Shanghai is now under lockdown, with most res... Read more

Since the early days of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted global supply chains, creating shortages of goods, even though ships, trains, trucks and planes continued to run, to the best of their ability. The infrastructure that supports global supply chain operations has struggled to abs... Read more

The lifting of COVID restrictions in parts of Shanghai this week has been postponed after nearly 20,000 new cases were reported on Monday. While the primary port terminals and airport remain open, most workers are in locked-down neighbourhoods and the impact on production and inland logis... Read more

After recording its highest daily number of cases on Saturday, with Omicron leading a spike, Shanghai, China’s most populous city and a global financial hub, will be locked down in two stages over nine days while authorities carry out infection testing. Authorities had so far resisted lockin... Read more

Following their seven-day lockdown, Shenzhen has reopened for business, but it could take weeks for cargo flows to recover, with vessels queuing and Yantian port throughput down 40%, amid concerns that COVID surges in other regions will affect supply chains, as strict controls, restrictions... Read more

Earlier today authorities in Langfang, which borders Beijing and Dongguan in the southern province of Guangdong imposed immediate seven-day lockdowns, joining Shenzhen, which started a seven day lockdown on Sunday, while the entire province of Jilin has been placed in complete lockdown and Hong K... Read more

When global supply chains finally start to return to some form of normality, which many hope to see in the second half of the year, carriers face more headaches, with an avalanche of empty containers predicted to cause chaos. Who would have thought it? Full year 2021 demand for sea freigh... Read more

The lockdowns and restrictions that China’s zero-Covid strategy risk, may create greater disruption than earlier waves of the pandemic, threatening already stretched global supply chains. Beijing’s strict zero-Covid policy has curbed local outbreaks with mass testing, snap lockdowns, vigil... Read more

Disrupted cargo handling and congestion on the ground muted air cargo’s growth in November, with volumes falling by -1.2% in a month that is traditionally one of the busiest, in the peak build-up to Christmas.  Last month’s fall in volumes compared to October 2021 came despite a +0.5%... Read more

The Omicron variant is likely to be another test of supply chain resilience and could pose a threat to global economic recovery, particularly if China enforces its ‘zero-COVID’ policy, to prevent cases entering. Yesterday evening’s announcement by the prime minister, Boris Johnson, of a ... Read more