In this article, we try to sample all the latest news on a monthly basis. Please get in contact with us if you like more in-depth information.
May
week 21 General updates
Re-opening Shanghai ports
China - and Shanghai ports start to open, although the resumption is not moving at high speed but actually very limited and slow.
Shanghai still struggles with Coronavirus and reported 770 locally transmitted infections of the novel coronavirus Thursday, out of a total of 939 identified infected on mainland China.
Container trucking to/from Shanghai
Road traffic to/from Shanghai is still being maintained a strict control due to Covid-19 quarantine. More trucks are granted working permits since last week, which can perform container trucking services in Shanghai to/from cities outside Shanghai. But drivers are forbidden to leave away from trailer cab without any people contact at factory premise, depot, and port terminal. As a result, some trucking service demands will hardly be performed, especially those in the countryside areas far away from Shanghai.
The trucking capacity is in general a big shortage in the Shanghai market, the price is 2-3 times of normal period. Most supplier factories would rather pay 30-40% more to Ningbo than an unstable expensive service to Shanghai port in case of an FCL order. Yangtze River barge port now is even more fully booked than before, which is more convenient for local production inland China area. Now a stable barge schedule and easier local operation at origin are afforded well to suppliers in inland Yangtze River area.
CFS trucking to/from Shanghai
Some warehouse terminals in Shanghai are starting to open after receiving operation permits. This permit requests that a dedicated operation team located on-site which is confined, all team crew are living and working inside this confined terminal area. Right now, the operation is mostly related to importing Shanghai goods pickup from deep sea port.
LTL and FTL trucks are not easily getting into Shanghai for delivery, and these drivers would be requested to have 14- days of isolation at home place after returning from Shanghai. Therefore it stops more cargo delivery by trailers from outside Shanghai.
Ningbo
Along with more Shanghai volume moving to Ningbo port, Ningbo port and warehouse have been congested for recent weeks. CFS delivery will probably take about 1-2 days to wait for offloading at warehouse terminals at Ningbo. We see equipment shortage as an issue at Ningbo port.
Yantian
Operation at Yantian port area is normal, shipping space and equipment are good enough for market demand, but a few shipping schedules are changed affected by vessels omitted Shanghai.
April
week 17 General updates
Shanghai container port is operating, but the lack of trucking capacity has resulted in chaos in supply chains. Trucking and entry problems are creating pressure at some yards in the Shanghai port. Additionally, some carriers have started to cancel calls at Shanghai to instead provide intermodal services, such as land-to-water or rail.
As more export volumes have been redirected to Ningbo, those supply chain conditions were also worsening. The situation at China’s second-biggest port has worsened, with more COVID cases and measures introduced. This increase the pressure combined with many shippers trying to re-route cargo from Shanghai through Ningbo, especially those in Jiangsu(Nanjing) and Anhui (Hefei) inland ports.
week 16 General updates
Shanghai
A few companies have restarted production in Shanghai this week, after a three-week shutdown. Most enterprises in Shanghai are preparing themselves for the start-up of work and production in the coming weeks.
The Port terminal in Shanghai is operating normally without shutdown, but more and more imported containers are standing at the port area due to limited trucking capacity after a long lockdown. Outbound export ex Shanghai by sea is heavily delayed due to road traffic shut-down and people in lockdown. This situation is expected to remain till the end of April. We see the equipment issue is becoming a challenge to suppliers because export volumes are increasing, meaning the capacity in the market is full.
Warehouse operation in Shanghai is still closed down, all export bookings are switched to Ningbo and Nanjing temporally. This will be continued for the next 2 weeks and until further notice.
Tianjin, Dalian, Qingdao, Ningbo, Xiamen, Shenzhen and Hong Kong are not impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Team Shanghai are well and safe at home.
week 14 General updates
Shanghai
Shanghai deep sea ports (Waigaoqiao and Yangshan) are currently working as per normal though, including vessel operations, yard handling and gate-in-and-out. All hauliers entry port and operates against a valid permit. Overall all terminals continue working as per normal with minor congestion caused by bad weather.
Multi-modal service via barge and rail as alternative solutions between Shanghai and nearby cities, it depends on shipping company’s availability.
Road traffic to/from Shanghai is controlled and only open for medical and living supplies, and transportation vehicles with a valid permit.
Warehouse (both bonded and non-bonded) in lockdown area is seriously impacted. It is foreseeable that the efficiency of trucking services from/to Shanghai will be further impacted due to the lockdown, both LCL and FCL goods.
For airfreight, gateway operations are normal in Shanghai PVG. However with more airlines cancelling flights for the coming days, more volumes will be shifted to other airports in China, including Zhengzhou and Beijing.
Local lockdowns and other quarantine measures especially those surrounding Shanghai cause supply chain bottle necks primarily stemming from the trucking capacity shortage. Major impact is still at customer landside operation (factory, warehouse and trucking) where positive cases identified.
Now we suggest to swift bookings from Shanghai to Ningbo for urgent orders, or ship via Nanjing barge port if factory or suppliers premise nearby.
March
week 13 General updates
Shanghai
To curb the spread of coronavirus, a new round of nucleic acid testing for residents is conducted in Shanghai on March 28th.
According to government, the testing will begin in regions east of the Huangpu River. From 5 am Monday to 5 am Friday, the regions will be locked down while residents are tested.
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Residents told not to leave homes
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Buses, subways, ferries, taxis, and online car-hailing services suspended in locked down regions
The rules also apply to key subdistricts in Puxi, west of the river, which are already under lockdown and tested frequently.
From 3 am Friday to 3 am April 5, other regions in Puxi will be locked down while residents are tested.
Operations in locked down regions:
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warehouse terminals, airport, Deepsea ports are suspended
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export shipments are suspended
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trucking is suspended
All employees of Shanghai office will remain working from home during the period.
The warehouse operation, container trucking and cargo delivery are impacted and relayed till resumption. Some exporting shipments planned in next week are to be postponed and cancelled due to sudden suspension.
If you have some concerns or questions on your cargo, please contact us.
week 12 General updates
SHENZHEN
Government offices, enterprises, and businesses are set to resume normal work and production from March 21st.
The district of Yantian and Pingshan, housing many production companies, resumed normal production from March 18. Local warehouses have reopened and trucking capacity has improved, but there are still subject to road control and testing.
Authorities are rolling out measures to ensure the safety and stability of industrial and supply chains, and orderly life and work for locals.
Dongguan, another key manufacturing hub in the southern province of Guangdong, with factories in some areas closed due to Covid flareups last week, also resume production this week, except a few high-risk areas.
HONGKONG
As more truck drivers have been testing positive, the trucking capacity has been further decreased, especially the local trucking capacity to and from the rest of China has been severely impacted.
Air freight also faces delays and flight cancellations.
week 11 General updates
Estimations show that the volume of cargo will decrease, as production either shuts down or slow down.
Capacity of trucking is subject to the constantly changing regulations of the regions and cities around Shenzhen and shanghai, such as Dongguan, Suzhou. This will reduce the overall efficiency of transportation to these port cities.
Shenzhen
Shenzhen tightens COVID measures. The city put all residential communities, urban villages, and industrial parks in closed-loop management from March 13th to March 20th, requiring residents to work from home. Only except those involved in epidemic control and necessary public services. All enterprises to implement home office.
Large-scale conferences, events, forums, performances, and gatherings have been suspended, and all commercial venues have been temporarily closed.
All public transport is closed until further notice.
Operations:
Services needed to keep the city and ports running will continue, Yantian port and Sekou Port are currently operating normally.
Terminals are operating as normal.
Warehouse - All inbound and outbound operations normal.
With negative 24-hour nucleic acid record, truck drivers can leave Shenzhen and shuttle between factories and terminals. The availability is subject to the constantly changing regulations of the regions and cities around Shenzhen.
Shenzhen airport is fully operational and there are no flight cancellation notices for now.
Trucking service for routes between Hong Kong and Mainland has been suspended.
Shanghai
Currently there are 10 medium-risk areas in Shanghai, that have implemented control measures. The local Municipal Health Commission is accelerating mass testing as well as closed-loop transport and quarantine of COVID patients.
Employees at ColliCare shanghai office will work from home this week (Mar. 14-18).
Operations:
Major ports in Shanghai maintain regular operations.
Container loading and discharge operations stay normal.
Truck drivers need to hold the 48-hour nucleic acid record to leave Shanghai, and the availability is also subject to the constantly changing regulations of the regions and cities around Shanghai.
February
Xi'an returns to normal operation
Xi'an suffered another Covid break-out, but have regained control of the situation and operations are now running as normal.
Send your goods by rail from China
It looks like the situation with congestion, tight capacity, and high rate levels will continue into 2022. For shipments from China to Norway, you should add rail to your plans!
ColliCare has been developing rail freight from China to Norway since 2019, and we now can offer weekly rail service with stable volumes. In 2021 we successfully launched block trains service which has been well received by the market. In 2022, we will carry on with the steady service and extend our service range further.
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despite soaring freight rates for Sea- and Air freight, Rail freight rates remain relatively stable, which can be an economical option for you
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compared with Sea freight the transit time of Rail freight is reduced by half, with about 28-30 days
We offer a regular rail service from Xi’an to Oslo, with multiple departures every week.
Please have a look at ourmonthly Rail freight schedule.
Get in contact with us for more information, booking, capacity, price, or other enquires!
January
Xi’an has tightened lockdown measures
As the number of COVID-19 cases in Xi'an rises to 1,893 until Jan 4, it means that this outbreak is the most severe since March 2020.
Xi’an is still fighting with the outbreak, and it has further tightened lockdown measures, requiring all residents to stay at home unless permitted to go outside for mass testing.
Rail freight from Xi’an
As local outbreaks continue to flare up, the new policy does not allow trucks enter Xi'an and drivers who has been in Xi'an need to take quarantine.
As a result, all the containers from rail freight will be collected at Xiangyang station in Hubei Province and depart from there. Xiangyang Station is located to the southeast of Xi'an and is an important transportation hub connecting central and western China.
Upgraded sanitizing processes and strict operation restrictions due to Covid-19 have also limited operational capacity, the departure is expected to be delayed by 1-3 days from the schedule.
Ningbo Port Operations
Update 2022.01.04
According to General Office of the People’s Government of Zhejiang Province, a few people were tested Covid-19 positive in Beilun as one of Ningbo’s important administrative districts. Of the five container terminals in Ningbo, 3 terminals Ningbo Beilun Container Terminal (NBCT), Ningbo Beilun Second Container Terminal (NBSCT), Ningbo Beilun Third Container Terminal (NBTCT) are located near the epidemic area of Beilun district while no positive case is reported in the terminals.
Local authority has implemented disinfection and quarantine measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Vessels
Vessel call and departure keeps normal so far.
Trucking & empty containers
The local transportation authority and Ningbo port have formulated regulations and issuing special permit for trucking service providers to mitigate the impact on logistics transportation. According to the newest news released on January 4, a total of more than 7,600 permit have been issued for drivers who passed the applications.
Container gate-in and gate out operations are permitted only through 5 dedicated channels including 4 highspeed intersections (Beilu, Chaiqiao, Guoju, Chuanshan) and one road between NBCT and NBSCT from 16:00 PM 1st of Jan in the three terminals.
The empty pick-up is normal but subject to upgraded operational procedures.
Operation
Container load and discharge operations keep normal in the three terminals near the epidemic area of Beilun district.
Since Ningbo Beilun District notified a confirmed case on January 1, it has launched three-round of COVID-19 tests so far. There still will be several rounds to be conducted within this week, the result will be a key factor in whether to close the port or other matters.