China’s manufacturers braced for drop in orders as coronavirus outbreak snarls-up southern shipping hubs
- Severe congestion at Shenzhen’s Yantian port is spreading to Nansha port in Guangzhou following the discovery of several coronavirus cases in southern China
- Yantian and Nansha are among world’s busiest container ports, but Yantian is only operating at one-seventh of its usual level
Manufacturers in Guangdong are expecting export orders to slow in the second half of the year, due in part to skyrocketing cargo costs as well as shipping delays caused by the recent coronavirus outbreaks in southern China.
Yantian and Nansha are among world’s busiest container ports, with an annual volume of more than 30 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEU) combined, which would have made them the third busiest in the world in 2019.
We think the fee will continue to rise in the coming month. Besides, the exchange rate is particularly difficult to forecast. That will bring us very high risk
“We sense the problem of terminal congestion and vessel delays in Nansha port, of upwards of one week, two weeks or even longer. It’s becoming very uncertain because the Covid-19 outbreaks are getting worse in Guangdong,” said Jason Ding, who ships car parts mainly to East Africa from his manufacturing base in Guangzhou.
“Our business is actually very competitive. We do not dare to propose a price increase to our clients if our rivals don’t. What I’m going to do is to reduce the speed of receiving new orders, and wait and see.”
Boasting the most intensive international routes of ports in South China, Yantian mainly handles exports to Europe and the United States.
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