Back to all news
NEWS
Supply Chain Omicron Update - China
11 January 2022
Following our recent update advising of disruption at China ports due to outbreaks of the Omicron variant, please find below a brief overview of the current guidelines/restrictions across some of the key supply chain locations in China.
Please note, the situation is quickly changing as numbers of COVID-19 cases increase locally.
Tianjin: Offices are closed until further notice. Staff are required to work from home and undergo mandatory testing (as do all citizens in Tianjin). Port operations remain normal, but, similar to Ningbo, there are already various limitations in place for truck drivers which cause some delays. Some cancellations of bookings as restrictions are tightened are expected.
Shenzhen: A few Covid cases were found over the weekend. Truck drivers now require a negative PCR test not older than 48 hours to enter the port. Parts of Shenzhen are under lockdown. While not expected to be as serious as Ningbo, there will be some delays to return/pick up containers at the port.
Xi’an: The city remains under strict lockdown and offices are closed. Serious restrictions on trucking have led to various operational issues across both trucking and rail. The airport is closed.
Ningbo: While we can see some improvements on operational flow, only 1/3 of the truck drivers are allowed to go to other cities to load containers and return them to Ningbo, causing significant delays.
Shanghai, Qingdao, Tianjin, Shenyang, Dalian and Xiamen continue to operate normally (as of 11th January, 12pm GMT).
The next three weeks are a critical and busy time for exports out of China ahead of the Lunar New Year public holiday (and just weeks from the opening of the Winter Olympics, which may see restrictions tightening further).
While containers are continuing to move, carriers are considering diverting to China ports currently unaffected to avoid delays. We will keep you updated as the situation develops.
If you have any questions on your Asia supply chain, please contact us here.