At the end of January, the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus, now called COVID-19, originated in Hubei province in China, as a public health emergency at an international level. Since then, the Asian country has established certain restrictions to stop the spread of the virus with the extension of the Lunar New Year holidays, where the date of reinstatement went from January 30 to February 2 in most areas of the country, and to February 9 for the provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong, Fujian, and Guangdong, as well as for Shanghai and Chongqing, according to their local governments.
On the other hand, shipping companies are reducing the number of maritime vessel routes as a result of the virus crisis, which threatens to interrupt world supply chains indefinitely and hit global trade. This has resulted in a lack of dockers and drivers that have increased transit times and caused stacking of containers at the docks.
Although the Chinese New Year holidays have officially ended, the operation is not to 100% as the country seeks to contain the outbreak by keeping factories closed and workers at home. The current situation of our main origins/destinations in China is as follows:
| Location | Offices | Warehouses and trucks | Port operations and carriers.
|
| Shanghai | Offices are open and operational, although most staff are working remotely from home. | Warehouses are operational, but delays are anticipated. Trucks are also operational, but extended transit times are expected due to a lack of drivers.
|
Ports are open and operational. Offices of shipping companies remain closed until February 17 and have blank departures. |
| Dalian | Offices are open and operational, although most staff are working remotely from home. | Warehouses are operational, but delays are anticipated. Trucks are also operational. | Ports are open and operational. Offices of shipping companies remain closed until February 17 and have blank departures.
|
| Ningbo | The local government did not allow work to resume. All staff is working from home remotely until February 14, awaiting further instructions. | Warehouse and truck services remain closed. | Ports are open and operational. Offices of shipping companies remain closed until February 17 and have blank departures.
|
| Qingdao | Offices are open and operational, although most staff are working remotely from home. | Warehouses are operational. However, delays are expected. Truck services have resumed partly and only within the city limits. Advanced reservations are required.
|
Ports are open and operational. Offices of shipping companies remain closed until February 17 and have blank departures. |
| Nanjing & Chongqing
|
Offices still closed. All staff is working from home remotely. | There are almost no transport services to the cities of entry due to the traffic ban during the epidemic. | Ports are open and operational. Offices of shipping companies remain closed until February 17 and have blank departures.
|
| Guangzhou
|
Offices are open and operational, although most staff are working remotely from home. | Warehouses are operational. However, delays are expected. Truck services have resumed, but it is not to 100% due to lack of drivers and a reservation is required 24 hours in advance.
|
Ports are open and operational. Offices of shipping companies remain closed until February 17 and have blank departures. |
| Xiamen
|
Offices are open and operational, although most staff are working remotely from home. | Warehouse operational. However, delays are expected. Truck services have resumed, but it is not to 100% due to lack of drivers and a reservation is required 24 hours in advance.
|
Ports are open and operational. Offices of shipping companies remain closed until February 17 and have blank departures. |
| Shenzhen
|
The local government did not allow work to resume. All staff is working from home remotely until February 14, awaiting further instructions. | Warehouses are operational. However, delays are expected. Truck services have resumed, but it is not to 100% due to lack of drivers and a reservation is required 24 hours in advance.
|
Ports are open and operational. Offices of shipping companies remain close until February 17 and have blank departures.
|
| Tianjin | Offices are open and operational, although most staff are working remotely from home. | Warehouses operational for receiving cargo and stuffing. Truck only available from Beijing to Tianjin. | Ports are open and operational. Offices of shipping companies remain closed until February 17 and have blank departures.
|
| Hong Kong
|
Offices are open and operational. 50% of the staff is in-office service, 50% of the staff work from home. | Warehouse and truck services work normally. | Ports are open and operational. Shipping companies work normally. |
The cessation of import operations is causing a huge bottleneck in seaports, as large logistics companies are stopped or providing minimal services due to lack of personnel; and the shipment of products and material from China to the world is severely affected. Especially, when it involves road trips within the Asian country. This situation can be worsened in the following weeks by the massive cancellation of boats.
The Lunar New Year is usually followed by the accumulation of shipments that will worsen due to the current situation. Therefore, the experts’ recommendation is not only to prepare with contingency plans for possible capacity problems and delays but also for significant price peaks of shipping companies.
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Please contact us about any questions regarding your import or export operations to or from China, or if you have relevant information on the subject.
