Posted on March 3, 2020
Even where factories are back in operation, getting freight to docks has been impeded by roadblocks and quarantines.
SHANGHAI — Some docks in China are clogged with arriving shipping containers or iron ore. Warehouses overflow with goods that cannot be exported for lack of trucks. And many factories are idle because components are not reaching them.
As Beijing tries to jump-start an economy hobbled by its coronavirus epidemic, one of the biggest obstacles lies in the country’s half-paralyzed logistics industry. China has some of the world’s biggest and newest seaports and airports, but using them has become a lot harder because of roadblocks, quarantines and factory closings.
Global shipping has been one of the biggest casualties. More tonnage of container ships is idled around the world now than during the global financial crisis, according to Alphaliner, a shipping data service.
Daily charter rates for tankers and bulk freighters have plummeted more than 70 percent since early January as China buys less oil, iron ore and coal, said Tim Huxley, the chief executive of Mandarin Shipping, a Hong Kong-based freighter shipping line.
Ports and their customs offices are operating fairly smoothly, said several freight forwarders, who are essentially travel agents for cargo shipments. The difficulties lie in getting goods to and from the docks.
The slowdown in China is already being felt in the United States.
In January, container volume dropped 2.7 percent at American ports, according to Panjiva, a research unit of S&P Global Market Intelligence. And officials say they expect much bigger declines as the crisis goes on.
“The overall economic impact of these types of emergencies is often in the tens of billions of dollars,” said Cary Davis, an official with the American Association of Port Authorities. “Due to the coronavirus outbreak, cargo volumes at U.S. ports might be down by 20 percent or more on a year-on-year basis compared to 2019.”
Chinese government agencies have announced a series of measures in the last few days aimed at getting the country’s trucking fleet and ports humming again. But no one can say how quickly activity will return to normal.
Source: nytimes.com
