China shipping: container shortages leave exporters struggling to meet overseas orders ahead of Christmas shopping rush
- Since the start of the pandemic, two big problems have faced Chinese exporters: a shortage of containers and high freight costs
- Ahead of Christmas, it is a race against time for traders to get their goods to key export markets in the US and Europe
Guangdong-based factory owner and bicycle maker Derrick Tian finally secured a container at the end of September for a new shipment of bikes leaving Yantian Port in southern China, after weeks of searching.
Shipping congestion caused by on-and-off lockdowns to contain the coronavirus has wreaked havoc on his business, making it even harder for Tian – a small exporter – to compete with bigger companies sending larger volumes.
If all goes well, his bicycles will appear in US stores in time for the upcoming Black Friday and Christmas shopping season.
That single container, however, is a drop in the ocean for Tian. He might have secured one today, but he is concerned about the next and whether he will be able to meet his customers’ long list of orders, given curtailed global shipping capacity.
“The biggest problem is to get your goods out of China,” he said.
If current circumstances hold, we’re going to see many more empty shelves heading into the holiday shopping season and beyond
Since the start of the pandemic, the two big challenges facing exporters like Tian have been a tight supply of containers and shipping capacity – which has slowed delivery of goods to end consumers – and the resulting increase in freight costs that has affected companies’ bottom lines.