Category: China

With individual district lockdowns and mass testing again underway, the trade press have been reporting that Shanghai could go back into lockdown, which would be a major disruption as we enter the traditional peak season. It’s been just six weeks since Shanghai emerged from its two-month zer... Read more

Global sea freight operations have struggled with disruptions since the outbreak of the COVID pandemic over two years ago, and this has continued into 2022, with a peak shipping season this summer that is likely to be very chaotic. China’s zero-COVID strategy lockdowns have slowed supply cha... Read more

Container volumes at eight of China’s top ports surged 25% to 16.8 million TEU in April, largely driven by consumers in Europe and the US, but manufacturers are anticipating weakening demand. According to figures released by China’s Transport Ministry, only Shanghai recorded a decline in s... Read more

As COVID lockdown measures are gradually relaxed in Shanghai it is uncertain how quickly export sea freight volumes will rebound, but many experts are anticipating a strong and sustained spike in demand creating a backlog of shipping containers, which could once again result in oce... Read more

Strict border controls amid China’s zero-COVID policy is creating a shortage of foreign expertise, with some suggesting the development could become a permanent feature, with ramifications for supply chains and an accelerating factor for consideration of production moving to alternati... Read more

Shanghai is aiming to reopen the city and business operations, with normal life resuming from the 1st June, as all 16 city districts report acceptably reduced ‘zero-COVID’ cases. At a press briefing on Monday, Shanghai’s Vice Mayor announced that 15 of Shanghai’s 16... Read more

Across the major shipping trade lanes a total of 56 sailings have been blanked over the next four weeks - so far - representing an 8% cancellation rate. The halting of factory production, following the continuing lockdown in Shanghai, is resulting in a drop in export bookings from China, ... Read more

Despite talk of restarting manufacturing and a tiered reopening of Shanghai and the surrounding province, the situation remains challenging and delays are increasing in Ningbo as the volume of cargo diverted from Shanghai continues to grow. The Shanghai lockdown remains for a fifth week, ... 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

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