While the Chinese city’s lockdown is slowly being eased as COVID-19 cases drop, the number of container ships spotted in the Shanghai and Ningbo-Zhoushan region is still 11 per cent above the median in the last year, according to shipping data compiled by Bloomberg.
The volume of container goods moving in or out of Shanghai port by truck and train has also declined over the past week, according to data from FourKites.
Some shippers have tried to shift to air routes but faced similar problems, with many flights being cancelled as a result of staffing shortages, according to digital freight forwarder Zencargo.
The disruption to supply chains has extended further south to other ports. The number of container ships off Shenzhen and Hong Kong hit a seven-month high of 184 vessels on Tuesday. At this time last year, there were just 95 vessels in the area.
Mr Nixon said ONE planned to reduce the number of ships it chartered from other parties, adding that about 15 per cent of the company’s fleet was hired on short-term contracts lasting up to a year. The company was looking at ordering new ships that would run on cleaner fuel, he said.
Bloomberg
