China relaxes covid restrictions
China have this week issued updated covid protocols which is good news for logistics. Testing and travel restrictions have been relaxed and people can now isolate in their homes rather than having to go and stay at central venues.
China have maintained a strict policy for the last 3 years since the outbreak of covid making sure that stringent testing and isolation rules were in place.
This has in turn had a massive knock on effect on the logistics industry, and chinas role in the global economy is weakening as the result of such stringent measures. Worldwide reduction in demand for goods, coupled with China’s strict Covid policies, had a severe effect on Chinese manufacturing in November.
Speaking at DP World’s Global Freight Summit in Dubai, Till Ole Barrelet, CEO of Emirates Shipping Line, said that China’s attempt to stamp out Covid, which includes the continued use of regional lockdowns and mandatory quarantines for international visitors, is one of several threats to the global shipping industry, alongside the potential for a recession in Europe and a slowdown in the US.
“In China it’s quite challenging now for the supply side, for factories. You don’t know if you can actually supply your goods tomorrow, or if you’re in a lockdown, whether you have enough workers. Unfortunately, if we have lockdown in Ningbo, the trucks to bring the containers to port cannot actually go to the factories and hence the suppliers can’t ship their cargo. This uncertainty is really a key concern for the Chinese economy, and we really hope that there will be a solution soon so that there is more predictabilty.”
Source – Nature.com / allaboutshipping.co.uk / african.business / The Guardian