Extended CNY Holiday Stalls Supply Chains As Fight Against Coronavirus Continues
As China continues to fight against the spread of the novel coronavirus which has sickened tens of thousands and killed nearly 500 since December 31, many provinces and major cities across the country have announced that they are further extending the Chinese New Year Holiday to Feb 10.
As a result, we are expecting supply chain delays for both air and ocean freight that could last into March.
- Air Freight: Based on the current predictions, we're estimating 2 week delays in Air Freight moving into and out of China. Most passenger air services to and from China have stopped due to the virus, so capacity is limited to air freighters only. Note that shipping via air freighters tends to be double the cost of general air freight as there are no passengers to contribute to the cost of the flight.
- Ocean Freight: We are seeing an acceleration of carriers cutting back on sailings due to lack of freight caused by the slow factory ramp-up. Carriers are blanking sailings into mid-March, and we've seen over 100 blank sailings announced thus far, reducing capacity and cargo throughput. This is causing 2 week delays for most ocean freight shipments into and out of China as cargo is rolled to vessels sailing at later dates. Space on vessels will be limited, with less frequent calls than usual because if a blank vessel is announced, it is pulled from service loops completely. Stay tuned for another update specific to Blank Sailings to follow.
- Port Closures: Wuhan/Wenzhou ports are closed until further notice, estimated re-opening date is Feb 17.
All other Chinese ports are open and operational as usual.
- Factories/Truckers: With the extended CNY holiday, factories and truckers will be delayed in returning to work. The add-on effect is 2 weeks of additional delays with cargo not moving, or 3-4 weeks if cargo is originating from Wuhan. Delays could persist once factories and truckers come back online due to the backlogged demand.
Below is the latest CNY holiday schedule for when to expect factories and truckers to come back online:
- Regions Already Back To Work:
- Beijing, Returned to work on Feb 3
- Hong Kong, Returned to work on Feb 3
- Taiwan, Returned to work on Jan 30
- Macau, Returned to work on Jan 28
- Regions with CNY Extended To Feb 10:
- Anhui
- Chongqing
- Dalian (Liaoning)
- Fuzhou (Fujian)
- Guangxi
- Guangzhou (Guangdong)
- Guizhou
- Heilongjiang
- Henan
- Hunan
- Inner Mongolia
- Jiangxi
- Jilin
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- Ningbo (Zhejiang)
- Nanjing (Jiangsu)
- Qingdao (Shandong)
- Shanghai
- Shanxi
- Shaanxi
- Shenzhen (Guangdong)
- Tianjin
- Xiamen (Fujian)
- Yunnan
- Zhejiang (excluding Wenzhou)
- Zhongshan
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- Regions with CNY Extended To Feb 14:
- Regions with CNY Extended to Feb 17:
Some steamship lines (ONE, APL) have announced that they will not be resuming office work until Feb 17.
UWL is monitoring this situation closely and we are committed to working through any delays and communicating with you quickly and effectively to minimize the impact of the Coronavirus and extended CNY holiday on your operations.
We will continue to keep you informed of the latest developments. Please contact your local UWL customer service representative if you have any questions.
Thank you for your business and continued support.
Go Deeper: Coronavirus Supply Chain Effects
For more information about the Coronavirus' potential impact on supply chains and what to expect, check out our blog with key insights from our supply chain experts and boots on the ground in China. We will continue to keep this resource updated as more information comes out, so please check back for the latest news.