Harsh Reality of Shanghai’s Lockdown and the Supply Chain

Harsh Reality of Shanghai’s Lockdown and the Supply Chain

Wednesday 20/04/22

Since March 27, authorities in Shanghai began a snap lockdown of the city’s roughly 26 million residents after a mass testing revealed “large scale” Covid-19 infections.

Since then, stories of desperate citizens struggling to find food have spawned rare protests in the city—and viral videos of residents screaming from their high-rise apartments to share their frustration. But despite the outrage, President Xi Jinping said last week that China’s zero-COVID policy “cannot be relaxed.”

That’s bad news for supply chains that are already feeling the stress of ...

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Shanghai Lockdown Causes Queues of Vessels Stuck Waiting To Enter China

Shanghai Lockdown Causes Queues of Vessels Stuck Waiting To Enter China

Wednesday 13/04/22

Queues of vessels carrying raw materials have jumped after Shanghai initiated a city-wide lockdown at the end of last month to combat Covid-19. More than two weeks on, the congestion has expanded to nearby Ningbo-Zhoushan as ship-owners desperately divert ships to other ports in the country to avoid the trucker shortage and warehouse closures in Shanghai. 

There were 222 bulkers waiting off Shanghai as of April 11, 15% higher than a month earlier, according to Bloomberg shipping data. ...

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Airport Congestion and Staff Shortages Means Cargo is not Getting Picked Up

Airport Congestion and Staff Shortages Means Cargo is not Getting Picked Up

Attempts by air cargo handlers to encourage forwarders to pick up freight at weekends are failing, according to two senior handling sources.

While the congestion at several airports, notably Amsterdam and Chicago O’Hare, has eased, handlers claim one of the biggest issues is lack of freight movements between Friday and Monday.

“We are experiencing cargo not being picked up by forwarders – that’s a sweeping statement, but in general, dwell times are increasing,” said Robert Fordree, head of cargo for Menzies. “Forwarders are ...

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Is The Supply Chain Broken?

Is The Supply Chain Broken?

Peter Cole, owner of Australian ecommerce company Urban Plant Growers is still waiting for his shipment two months after it was due to arrive in Sydney.  Cole’s $1.6 million order of hydroponic kits and lights, packed into two 40-foot shipping containers aboard a ship that set sail from Shenzhen, China, is still floating somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.

It never used to be this way. Before the pandemic, Cole’s kit was manufactured, shipped, and ready to sell to his customers in ...

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Where in The World is My Cargo?

Where in The World is My Cargo?

Written 22/09/21

It can almost be guaranteed that everyone at least once in their life has thought “where in the world is my cargo?” when expecting a consignment that hasn’t arrived yet, however, with the shipping industry the way it currently is you might be waiting a bit longer than usual.  The shipping industry has been hit with a number of things including: high demand, severe port congestion, industrial action, port closures due to COVID, lack of ...

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Increased Online Spending, Demand, Congestion, the Busiest Ports in the World and How the Shipping Industry is Handling the Pandemic

Increased Online Spending, Demand, Congestion, the Busiest Ports in the World and How the Shipping Industry is Handling the Pandemic

17/08/21

Today over 750 million containers – measured in 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) – are moved through almost 900 container ports across 141 countries each year. With the pandemic increasing the amount of time spent at home through lockdowns, this has resulted in a pandemic-led boom in online shopping for the option of next day delivery in high demand.

According to data from the United Nations, in Australia, the online retail sales were $13.5 billion in 2018 and in 2020 this ...

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Meidong Container Terminal in China Suspends Operations Over Single Covid-19 Case

Meidong Container Terminal in China Suspends Operations Over Single Covid-19 Case

12/08/21

Operations at Ningbo terminal have been suspended following a single case of Covid-19. Ningbo-Zhoushan port has started to turn ships away in the wake of the positive nucleic test. The worker resides in a dormitory and tested negative on the 8th, before being retested on the 10th of August.

Initially, the ports authority claimed that its operating system was down early yesterday morning before the Ningbo Municipal Health Commission came out with the news. The infected worker was ...

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Covid-19 Creates Chaos in Vietnam and China – What Does This Mean For Shipping?

Covid-19 Creates Chaos in Vietnam and China – What Does This Mean For Shipping?

In China, ports at Shanghai and Ningbo are reportedly facing additional congestion from new Covid restrictions. The two ports were hit hard by a typhoon late last month and have seen productivity slow as new anti-Covid measures are being carried out at most Chinese quaysides in the wake of the sudden spread of the delta variant of Covid-19 over the past three weeks.

Several Chinese cities, including Zhangjiajie, Zhengzhou and Beijing have restricted movements such as limiting public transport, locking down specific ...

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More Freight Delays Expected In China This Week Due To Typhoon

More Freight Delays Expected In China This Week Due To Typhoon

Written 26/07/21

More freight delays are expected in China this week, after typhoon In-Fa forced the closure of Shanghai’s container port and airport over the weekend.

Last week the typhoon brought a tremendous amount of rainfall that caused flooding in China’s central Henan province, causing disruptions at Zhengzhou (CGO), a major airfreight hub.

A spokesperson for Cargolux airline said on Friday: “Flight delays have been experienced, but things are returning to normal. Although cargo flights are not restricted, customs ...

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Global Port Congestion Worsens, 116 Ports Report Disruption

Global Port Congestion Worsens, 116 Ports Report Disruption

Written 22/07/21

The port congestion issue has stretched around the globe with large numbers of container ships idling, waiting for berth spaces to open up across five continents.

As of 3.20pm Singapore time today, there were 328 ships idling in front of ports around the world with 116 ports reporting congestion.

Data from the same reporter a month ago showed 304 ships idling in front of ports and 101 ports reporting disruption.

In May this year the time container ...

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