Global trade: traffic jams in Chinese ports

In Yantian harbor (illustrative image).

REUTERS - Martin Pollard

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2 min

This should further contribute to the increase in the price of maritime transport.

The recent cases of coronavirus discovered in southeast China - and the health measures that go with it - are disrupting the global supply chain.

Three months after the Suez crisis, container ships are forced to wait in front of Chinese ports.

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With our correspondent in Beijing,

Stéphane Lagarde

Closure of docks, limited handling, restricted circulation also to recover and transport loads intended for ships, the measures taken by the Chinese health authorities are causing traffic jams in front of "the workshop of the world".

Guangdong province still accounts for nearly a quarter of Chinese exports.

It is also and above all two of the five largest ports in the world.

Shipping costs go up

And restrictions linked to the discovery of a hundred cases of Covid-19 in this southeastern province of China have pushed up shipping costs and waiting times.

The time for ships to dock at Yantian, the port of the megalopolis of Shenzhen, has been reduced from half a day to sixteen days, a slowdown in traffic also observed in Canton.

Heavy truck drivers must present negative tests carried out within 72 hours, the number of days that container ships are allowed to stay in ports has also been reduced.

Stock-outs

After the super container ship crisis blocking the Suez Canal last March, the Guangdong ports crisis is further disrupting the global supply chain already heavily impacted since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, resulting in costs to businesses and consumers.

Stock-outs on products

made in China

and a further increase in shipping rates are expected in the coming weeks.

► See also:

Chinese exports up 30.6% over one year

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  • China

  • Trade and Trade

  • Transport

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