In the past April, although there was a lot of good news(sea shipping cost dropped) about China’s exports and Shanghai Shipment, it was also accompanied by a lot of bad news. Nearly a third of goods leaving the Port of Shanghai are held up due to a strict COVID lockdown. The delays are set to exacerbate a supply chain crisis that has caused shortages and price rises across the world.
Shanghai Sea Port: Shipments plummeted
An economist at the Kiel Institute for World Economics (IfW-Kiel) has warned that Europe and the United States could experience further delays and shortages of electronics imports from China due to the COVID-19 lockdown in Shanghai’s commercial hub.
World trade expert Vincent Starmer told Deutsche Welle that exports from Shanghai, the world’s largest container port, have fallen by nearly a third.
“Three weeks after the lockdown began, about 30 percent of the goods that should have left Shanghai at the moment have not left,” he explained. “In other words, exports to the rest of the world have decreased by 30 percent.”
Due to lockdown in Shanghai, large quantities of cargoes change to move out of Ningbo, but also here limited truck capacities are a major problem, because all Container Freight Stations do not allow trucks entry which run from any epidemic areas. CFS have reached their limits and are not able to further accept LCL cargo and stuff containers in time.
Air Port: Basic Suspension
The Airport Pudong is still operational, but reduced staff causes delays as well. Air Freight export from Shanghai is still possible but under heavy restrictions due to the fact that many airlines have canceled their flights and only reduced capacity is available.
Air Freight import to Shanghai is hardly possible, as most factories are closed and cannot accept the cargo. Almost all direct flights have been canceled.
Will our exports be affected?
The answer to this question is yes. TrueWay is located in Ningbo, Zhejiang, close to Shanghai. Air freight has received a relatively large impact. However, TrueWay Tec has extensive export experience and a wide variety of shipping partners.
Currently, for samples (orders shipped by air), we will transship through Hong Kong and South Korea. No additional charges will be added, but shipping times may be 1-3 days later than usual.
For orders by sea, we are close to the Ningbo port, so basically there is not much impact.