By Ashley Kao.    Photo : Fejuz

Shipping company: Reefer bookings for Shanghai will be resumed

As Shanghai prepares to lift its lockdown soon, liner operators have said that they will resume reefer bookings into the world’s busiest container port. The city will gradually lift movement restrictions between 5/11-5/20, nearly two months after the lockdown began.

Maersk Line said in an advisory that the first post-lockdown reefer cargo it receives is expected to arrive in Shanghai from 6/26. Bulk cargo (LCL) operators and deconsolidation facilities have resumed import and export operations in Shanghai.

CMA CGM pointed out that although all terminals in Shanghai have fully resumed the unloading of imported reefer and special cargoes, the Waigaoqiao port area is still affected by the shortage of manpower and ships, especially Pier 2 continues to face long waits. Since mid-April, Shanghai has allowed about 2,000 key enterprises to resume production under the "whitelist". These manufacturers must implement "closed-loop" systems, to avoid contact with the outside.

The container operation volume of Shanghai Port has recovered to 113,000 TEU on April 30, close to 80% of the pre-epidemic level. With the announcement of relevant policies in late April, the resumption of work and production of enterprises has gradually increased, and there is a chance for further recovery in May. The impact of the epidemic on the operation of Shanghai Yangshan Port was slightly affected, but the overall situation remained stable. During the epidemic period, Shanghai Port adopted fully closed management, and all production units maintained normal operation 24 hours a day to ensure the safe and stable operation of the port and smooth logistics. At present, more than 20,000 employees in the port have returned to work and implemented closed management.

The below is the feedback from China and Southeast Asia branches in week 19,

Shenzhen

Seaport:

This week, the market freight rate to the basic port of the US was relatively stable, the USEC began to be tense, and the IPI point fell slightly.

Airport:

The space is available and the rate is stable this week.

Hong Kong

Seaport:

Due to the pandemic, transportation through Hong Kong has been blocked, and the policy has not been fully recovered.

Airport:

Air space is eased down compared with last week.

Shanghai

Seaport:

From 5/5, Shanghai began to implement areas silent control. On 5/9, the Waigaoqiao area was temporarily notified to strictly implement silent control, resulting in the inability of most storage yards to operate.

Airport:

Shanghai is still under lockdown this week. Picking up cargos in nearby cities requires strict requirements for drivers and vehicles and needs to be reported and reviewed in advance. The delivery fee has increased by 4-6 times. As long as the cargos can be sent to the Shanghai warehouse, the agent can accept the high delivery fee and freight, and the general cargo can do the customs clearance.

Ningbo

The freight rate has not changed much, the port area and warehouse are still full, and the queue time is long.

Xiamen/Dalian

The freight rate remained stable this week. Due to the pandemic outbreak, truck transportation is still limited this week, drivers need to provide 24-hour nucleic acid, and some highway gates require government documents to pass.

Qingdao

Space are currently sufficient and freight rates are stable this week. Vessel changes and delays often occur. HPL's delays are more than 10 days, and the others delay 2-5 days. Trucks need to be booked 3 days in advance, and drivers need to provide nucleic acid test certificates, health codes. LCL warehouses are heavily congested, and sometimes it takes a day to line up.

Tianjin

Seaport:

The ocean freight rate was stable this week, and the freight rate to USEC fell slightly.

Airport:

The volume of cargos decreased this week, the freight rate of the European line dropped more than others, and the US-Canada line decreased slightly. Due to some flight adjustments, charter flights are reduced or cancelled, and the space still needs to be confirmed.

Thailand

After a long-term lockdown in Shanghai, transportation from China to Thailand is now re-open one after another. Some products are transported by truck and train to China via Laos and Vietnam, which has more flexibility than ocean shipping. In addition, air freight rates are currently stable, except for weekly or 15-day surcharges that are updated.

Vietnam

The market rates did not change much this week, and the situation of delays in vessel schedules continued to occur.

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