Coronavirus : Shanghai Port operations hit by city’s outbreak, lockdown
- The city’s current controls are affecting the logistical chain on land, with drivers from neighbouring provinces reluctant to enter over quarantine fears
- The world’s largest container port has been operating round the clock with workers kept inside a ‘closed loop’ bubble
Shanghai’s coronavirus lockdown and the surge in cases has hit operations at the world’s largest container port by disrupting the logistical chain on land, according to industry insiders.
Shanghai Port, a major export gateway for goods produced in the nearby manufacturing hubs of Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, has so far stayed in operation 24 hours a day inside a “closed loop” bubble, which requires workers to stay on site all the time.
Restrictions in Pudong, the area to the east, have remained in place and roads, bridges and tunnels across the river have been blocked until Tuesday at the earliest.
Serious disruption to trucking in, out and within the city are expected to cause a significant drop in the availability of goods and port output
“Even with the world’s largest port open, the closure of many warehouses, the drop in manufacturing and the serious disruption to trucking in, out and within the city are expected to cause a significant drop in the availability of goods and port output,” said Judah Levine, head of research at Freightos, an online freight marketplace.
The major logistical difficulties are on the land side rather than in the port area, according to Yan Hai, a senior transport analyst at SWS Research.
