Today, everyone is focused on the war in Ukraine, which is evolving and getting worse with every day that passes, but on the other hand, nobody is broadcasting what’s happening on the other side of the world. China’ largest inland port and city, Shanghai, is under lockdown. Covid-19 cases continue to rise, while in the southern region of the city, a giant convention center has been converted into a quarantine hospital. Guangzhou follows a familiar path towards complete lockdown soon.
Beijing’s officials are facing severe criticism for their Zero-COVID policy, which affected the trucking capacity, that cut down dramatically the in and out flow of Shanghai, during it’s 16 days lockdown. Warehouses, depots, factories and facilities shutting their activity down, being affected by the same laws and policy. The people are basically blocked in their homes, and whoever tested positive is now in the isolation centers. Drones are surveilling the streets, trying to keep population inside, in a desperate effort to keep the number of infections down. US department of state ordered all non-essential workers to leave it’s consulate in the city because of the enforcements of the local laws and restrictions, related to COVID lockdown.
This lockdown crisis, is one of the most severe in the entire pandemic. This will for sure affect the economics and not only, of Shanghai, China, and the entire world. This together with the port congestion and low personnel availability will affect as well Shipping Container Industry again, and we will see impacts on supply chains, China’s own growth and world wide inflation in the next months to come. The port of Shanghai, is the largest port in the world, and yet it’s the most crowded at the moment. See below the movement at the moment, and you can check live the congestion statistics thanks to MarineTraffic website.
The inflation will raise around the whole world, since China is the largest goods exporting country, and for sure it will affect more Western and European countries, that are already impacted by the war in Ukraine. The impact this time would be less severe than it was in the last couple of years, but it will add extra uncertainty and doubt to an already confusing price environment in the shipping industry and world wide economics. Shipping price might go up again, that would be reflected in container price increase and goods as well, but that will also might shake presidential elections that are to happen this fall in China. So let’s hope for the best and that wise choices would be made so this lockdown won’t happen twice or be held too long.
