Shanghai - Lockdown Eases But Not Out Of the Woods

The ongoing lockdown in Shanghai and subsequent blanking of sailings may hinder the progress that has recently been made in the Asia/European ocean freight market.

The city of Shanghai has finally started to ease some of its lockdown restrictions after almost two weeks of strict regulations, which had been having a major impact on logistics in the region.

If the easing of restrictions continues, and transport is able to operate normally again, then we can still expect major congestion and capacity strain during the initial rush to clear backlogged orders.

This may be further aggravated by a host of blanked sailings introduced by steam ship lines lately.

Following the impact of Covid in China, a drop in demand after Chinese New Year, and rates beginning to improve in some regions, carriers have responded by blanking sailings to reduce capacity.

This indicates that while it is positive news that Shanghai may be starting to open up again, ocean freight services from the region will still be far from ‘out of the woods’.

Of course, we will be monitoring developments closely. For further information on the above, then please do not hesitate to contact a member of the team.