December 22, 2022
After several years of strict COVID measures and quarantine, on January 8th, 2023, quarantine will be lifted for international travellers heading to China. Travellers to China instead will require a negative COVID test 48 hours prior to entering the country.
Since 2020, when the COVID pandemic was in full force, China has maintained a strict COVID Zero policy with both regional and local lockdowns in place to prevent the spread of the virus. The measures have created significant operational issues within the supply chain.
As 2023 approaches, the downgraded COVID measures are intended to kick start the economy.as the Chinese New Year also begins in January this year.
14th June, 2022
Mass COVID testing took place in Shanghai over the weekend as an extra precaution to contain any further outbreak of the virus. Shanghai is now operating as usual, the only impact being if a shipper/consignee's facility is closed due to COVID.
The majority of cities outside of Shanghai are now accepting trucks and drivers so long as a driver's covid-test report is negative and a 'green health code' has been issued.
The backlog of container ships created during the lockdown period is under control and is systematically being cleared. Some carriers have canceled or delayed their sailings in the last week of June from Shanghai to the U.S. looking further ahead into July.
If you need assistance at this time, please don't hesitate to reach out to the Crane Worldwide Logistics team here
UPDATE June 1st
Life, business and transport are returning almost to normal – except for schools – from today (Wed.), as the COVID-19 pandemic has been effectively controlled. Controls are in place to ensure there will be no large-scale COVID-19 resurgence and pandemic risks are under control. From Wednesday, all residents in areas other than medium and high-risk, locked-down and controlled areas are now allowed to leave their compounds. The number of people in the locked-down areas is under 200,000.
June 3rd (Friday) is a public holiday (Dragon Boat Festival) for China. We will resume work on June 6th (Monday).
Thank you for your support and patience during this difficult period of Shanghai. You can always reach out to your local Crane Worldwide Logistics representative for support any time.
Get in touch with the team today
Here is the update on the Shanghai lockdown, impact on logistics market and our operations, as of 16:00PM May 18th.
On Monday May 16th, Shanghai Vice Mayor announced that life and business in Shanghai would return to normal between June 1st and mid-to-late the next month, as the COVID-19 pandemic has been effectively controlled. Public transport, trains and flights will gradually resume.
All Shanghai's 16 districts have achieved zero community transmission and the city's daily infection number keeps declining.
For May 17th, the city reported 96 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases, 759 local asymptomatic infections. All of the infections were identified in central quarantine.
Situation for road transportation and international logistics has not changed much at this moment. We still need to check on shipment basis, for both ocean and air, export and import.
We will keep you updated as necessary until the situation is completely rectified. Please reach out to your local Crane Worldwide Logistics representative for support at this difficult time.
UPDATE 16:00 May 12th, China Time
Shanghai's daily COVID-19 infection numbers have been dropping continuously. On May 10th, it reported 228 locally transmitted cases and 1,259 local asymptomatic infections. All of the infections were tested positive in central quarantine.
Three suburban districts in Shanghai have achieved zero new cases. Citizens in those districts are allowed to move within limited areas. However, most Shanghai citizens, including all Crane Shanghai employees, are still confined at home this week till May 15th. When that date approaches, we will receive updated guidelines.
As of today, the situation for road transportation and international logistics remains the same. We need to check on a shipment basis for both ocean and air, export and import.
The situation is somewhat the same.
UPDATE 16:00 April 29th, China Time
Shanghai's daily COVID-19 infection numbers have been declining for three days, amid the ongoing campaign to achieve zero community transmission across the city.
Three suburban districts in Shanghai that have achieved zero community transmission, have allowed their residents to move around in limited areas.
However, residents in other districts still need to stay within their home or in their compound. That means, the majority part of Shanghai is still under lockdown.
Regarding road transportation and international logistics, there are no significant changes to current situation. .
April 30th (Sat.) to May 4th(Wed.) will be public holiday (Labor Day) for China, and we will resume work on May 5th (Thu.).
April 24th and May 7th are working days in lieu.
For export, we still need to check with supplier whether their local government allows container drayage or trucking service with truck drivers from Shanghai; or whether they can send cargo to our warehouse in Shanghai.
For import, we need to coordinate with consignee for the document turnover and delivery schedule case by case.
Case by case check with suppliers is still required.
UPDATE 16:00 April 20th, China Time
Last Saturday (April 16th), the Shanghai Commission of Economy and Informatization issued a guideline for enterprises to start the orderly resumption of work with controlled risks against this round of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Monday (April 18th), a white list of 666 firms was released. Companies in this list are encouraged to resume production in Shanghai as the ‘first batch’, while the city is still under a broad lockdown. Many among the list are chip and car makers and biomedicine firms.
This move, under the city's latest guidelines to enterprises on the orderly resumption of operations released over the weekend, aims to ease fears over the lockdown's impact on the national and global supply chain and economy.
Since Monday (April 18th), several Shanghai-based chip firms have already resumed production. Some of them have been maintaining production on a small scale since the end of March.
Car manufacturer Tesla has resumed production on Tuesday, with 8,000 workers reporting to duty on the first day.
All the companies resuming work are required to keep their workers and employees in a closed loop. Workers and employees on duty should stay in a centralized area during this period and can only move between the two dots.
Though some (not all) companies in the “white list” have resumed operations, we have not seen much improvement for transportation and international logistics as of today.
On Monday April 18th, the number of discharged COVID-19 patients in Shanghai has exceeded that of the city's daily new coronavirus cases for the first time.
Today April 20th, 2,494 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases and 16,407 local asymptomatic infections were reported to be identified on April 19th. The trend is going down (you can refer to the histogram on the left).
Many carriers, including but not limited to, Maersk, One, Hapag-Lloyd, MSC, CMA CGM, etc, have suspended accepting new refrigerated and DG cargo to Shanghai, due to insufficient storage space at Shanghai port for such specialized containers, caused by consignees’ being unable to pick up the containers after arrival, because of road transportation constraint.
Cargolux (CV) have announced flight cancellation to and from Shanghai (PVG) until April 24th/April 25th.
Turkish Airlines (TK) have cancelled all flights to/from PVG for this week from Monday to Friday, and have not announced their flight schedule for next week.
PVG airport have suspended on-site magnetism testing and on-site testing service for chemical goods.
Though the “resumption guidelines” have requested relative administrations to clear the hurdle on road transportation within Shanghai and across multiple provinces, and to ensure the normal running of highways, ocean ports and airports, there is not much change or obvious improvement as of today. Pickup/delivery by truck for ocean and air freight, and container drayage service for Shanghai and Ningbo port still need to be discussed on a case-by-case basis with the supplier/shipper.
For pickup from Eastern China cities to North China airports, only FTL (Full Truck Load), or dedicated truck service is available. Pickup by LTL service will not be approved, as shipper cannot get permit from local government to allow LTL truck into their city and facility.
We will keep you updated as necessary until the situation is completely rectified. Please reach out to your local Crane Worldwide Logistics representative for support at this difficult time.
UPDATE: 13:00 April 13th, China Time
On April 11th and April 12th, Shanghai announced updated follow-up prevention and control measures, following its extended, phased lockdown that began on March 28. Based on the results of previous screenings and risk levels, local areas are classified as "locked down," "controlled" or "precautionary."
7,565 residential communities, companies and sites have been designated as precautionary areas, as there were no positive COVID-19 cases in that area within the past 14 days. People should refrain from leaving their homes unless it is absolutely necessary, and their movements should be mainly confined to their compound. They are not allowed to travel outside their subdistricts and towns, nor locked-down or controlled areas. Gatherings are prohibited.
If there are many risk areas neighboring precautionary regions, local districts have the authority to control measures.
If a positive case is detected, precautionary areas will be assigned as a ‘locked-down area’, where a seven-day lockdown will be implemented, and residents required to stay home.
Though residents in precautionary areas will be allowed to exit their communities, they should work from home and avoid going out unless it's necessary.
Another 7,624 local residential compounds, villages, companies and sites have been designated as locked-down areas, where positive cases have been reported within the past week.
A seven-day lockdown plus another week of health observation will be imposed on locked-down communities and sites. If no positive case is reported in the next week, residents can walk around within their neighborhoods.
Lockdown will be lifted only after zero positive cases are reported for two weeks and every resident tests negative during a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test conducted on the 13th day.
If any positive cases are detected during the weeklong lockdown, buildings where the new cases live in will be locked down for two weeks, while other residents will have to quarantine in their homes for a week.
A total of 2,460 neighborhoods and sites have been listed as controlled areas, where there have been no positive cases in the past seven days. Residents of these areas are asked to conduct weeklong self-health monitoring. They are allowed to move around within their neighborhoods and coordinate with their neighbors to pick up online orders from designated areas.
Controlled areas will be upgraded to precautionary areas if no positive case is detected during the weeklong health monitoring, and every resident tests negative during a PCR test on the sixth day.
The three-level areas will be adjusted based on the ever-fluid situation. More than 20,000 previously infected people have been discharged from hospitals since March 1, according to the health commission.
More supermarkets, convenient stores and drugstores in locked-down and controlled areas will be allowed to reopen. Businesses that report zero positive COVID-19 cases can apply to the district's commerce authority to have their lockdowns lifted.
Some chain restaurants will also gradually reopen, but only take online orders.
As Shanghai enters the second week of an indefinite lockdown, ocean carriers are increasingly omitting Shanghai calls and preparing to announce more blank sailings. And, depending on how long the lockdown continues, the lines may need to look at idling ships for a while.
This is due to road transportation constraints, the port itself is operational.
As mentioned in the previous update, Ningbo has reported sporadic positive cases last week, which has also made the container drayage on the road from other cities to Ningbo port a challenge.
Qatar Airways (QR) has announced that their flights to and from Shanghai (PVG) continue to remain cancelled until April 21st, saying “the latest COVID-19 restrictions announced by local authorities limit our ability to operate flights in and out of Shanghai with sufficient cargo loads”.
We will keep you updated as necessary until the situation is rectified. Please reach out to your local Crane Worldwide Logistics representative for support at this difficult time.
UPDATE: 16:00 April 8th, China Time
Shanghai is still under lockdown. There is no indication when the lockdown will be lifted at present. The recent screening has found community transmissions still exist along with clusters of infections. The situation remains complex and severe.
As of today, Shanghai has reported a total of over 130,000 positive COVID-19 cases since the outbreak on March 1st. Some 96 percent are deemed asymptomatic cases and one patient is in a serious condition, according to the Shanghai Health Commission.
There are some sporadic cases identified in Ningbo this week, therefore Ningbo city government has strengthened control measures on trucks and drivers from other cities/provinces to Ningbo, and other cities have also levied different restrictions on trucks and drivers from Ningbo to their areas.
Ningbo port is running normally, however, pickup/delivery and drayage service for Ningbo port need to be discussed on a case-by-case basis with the supplier/shipper.
Cargo handling at PVG airport continues to be almost impossible. Cargo cannot be delivered into or picked up from the PVG airport area. More airlines have announced flight cancellations.
On April 6th, Cargolux (CV) announced that they will cancel flights to/from PVG between April 8th to April 14th.
On April 7th, Etihad Cargo (EY) announced cancellation of all freighters to/from PVG from April 13th to April 20th.
With the lockdown in PVG, a lot of shipments (from other central/eastern origins than Shanghai) have moved to other airports in China, making the airports in North China busier than ever. Zhengzhou (CGO) is now in at full capacity and overburdened. TAO, PEK and TSN have also seen increased volume and tighter capacity.
We will keep you updated as necessary until the situation is rectified. Please reach out to your local Crane Worldwide Logistics representative for support at this difficult time.
UPDATE: 14:00 April 5th, China Time
Amid the surging number of coronavirus cases recently, Shanghai launched its first ever citywide COVID-19 screening on Monday April 4th, with the help of medical teams coming from across the country.
The nucleic acid sample collection was completed smoothly yesterday. At this moment, Shanghai will continue the current lockdown, until follow-up measures are decided based on the result of yesterday's citywide nucleic acid testing, according to the city government.
Most of the Public transportation services in Shanghai are still suspended. Apart from medical or other emergency requirements, residents are being asked to continue to stay at home during the prolonged lockdown period.
The sample collection will be followed by testing and double-checking. Those who test positive must quarantine in dedicated quarantine areas in or outside of the city. After the completion of these tasks, the city will decide the follow-up management and control measures based on the nation's regulations and the results of the screening, the government said.
There is rumor in the market that Shanghai port is severely congested. This is incorrect. Shanghai port is mainly for container vessels. The said 300+ vessels are mainly dry and break bulk vessels and oil tankers, the majority of which are destined for Ningbo and Zhoushan port, not Shanghai. For now, Shanghai port is still operating 24/7. Though the port is busy, container vessels’ average waiting time for berthing is less than 24 hours.
However, cargo pickup/delivery and container drayage services still need to be reviewed case by case, as different cities/provinces have different policies whether to allow drivers from Shanghai to enter the city/provinces and how.
PACTL suspension of inbound DG cargo: PVG airport terminal PACTL has announced on April 2nd that they will suspend acceptance of inbound DG cargo, with immediate effect, tentatively scheduled to be in effect for two weeks. Airlines have been requested to communicate with their origin stations.
We will keep you updated as necessary until the situation is rectified.
Please reach out to your local Crane Worldwide Logistics representative for support at this difficult time.
UPDATE 1st April
The Phase-I lockdown on the Pudong New Area, Fengxian, Jinshan and Chongming districts as well as parts of Minhang and Songjiang districts was scheduled to be lifted from Friday April 1st 5:00AM, followed by the next phase for the rest part of the city in Puxi through April 5.
However, based on the results of the screenings during the first-part lockdown, the majority of these areas and districts, including the whole Pudong area, continue to be classified as "locked-down" areas according to the government.
Residential buildings where the positive cases have been identified will continue being locked down for two weeks (from March 28th). Residents are banned from leaving their homes before April 11th.
Other buildings in the same Apartment/Condo Complex, and other regions in the "locked down" areas, will be under one week of lockdown and another week of home quarantine, with additional PCR testing.
From 3:00 AM today, Shanghai's 2nd phase of lockdown, lockdown of Puxi area, for a wider scale of COVID-19 screening of some 16 million citizens in a dozen districts has started. The initial plan is to lift this lockdown at 3:00AM April 5th. However, similar to Pudong’s situation, the final measures will be determined and announced based on the covid test results of the large population.
It continues to be challenging to conduct container drayage. Other cities have become more reluctant to let container trucks from Shanghai enter into.
For clients with cargo origins in other Central/Eastern China cities/provinces than Shanghai (Zhejiang Province, Jiangsu Province, and Anhui Province, etc.), we suggest you to consider other ocean ports, like Ningbo, Qingdao, and Tianjin. Please reach out to your local Crane Worldwide Logistics representative for support.
Cargo handling at PVG airport has become almost impossible. More airlines have announced flight cancellations.
DL (Delta Airlines) have announced cancellation of DL288 on April 2nd (PVG-ICN-SEA) and on April 3rd (PVG-ICN-DTW). Next week’s flight plan will be announced once available.
For clients with cargo origins and/or destinations in other Central/Eastern China cities/provinces than Shanghai (Zhejiang Province, Jiangsu Province, and Anhui Province, etc.), we suggest you to consider other airport gateways such as Zhengzhou (CGO), Qingdao (TAO), Tianjin (TSN), and Beijing (PEK). Please reach out to your local Crane Worldwide Logistics representative for support.
We will keep you updated as necessary until things resume normal. Please reach out to your local Crane Worldwide Logistics representative for support at this difficult time.
Update for Shanghai’s staggered lockdown amid covid resurgence. The lock down continues to disrupt import and export operations. Note also dates for the upcoming Public holiday in China also included below.
UPDATE 14:00 China Time, 31st March 2022
Though Shanghai port is operating, due to the lockdown, there are not enough longshoremen in the port, so the efficiency for loading and unloading has been impacted. Both Waigaoqiao Port and Yangshan Port are congested.
For import: Import vessels’ waiting time for berthing will be longer.
For export: Some ocean carriers have announced vessel delays or are omitting Shanghai calling of some vessel/voyages, and some have announced blank sailings. A lot of clients have shifted to Ningbo port. Some carriers have started to allocate more space to Ningbo, but some have not actioned so swiftly.
For Import, PACTL suspension of new refrigerated cargo: PVG airport terminal PACTL, which many main airlines are using, has announced that they will suspend acceptance of refrigerated and frozen cargo at this moment until further notice due to the fact that temperature controlled warehouses are full (most consignees cannot come to pick up the cargo due to the lockdown), and there is no more space for new cargo.
For Export, more flight cancellations:
CI (China Airlines) have announced cancellation of many freighters from PVG to LAX and ORD, since Mar.30th to April 5th.
CZ (China Southern Airlines) have cancelled some flights from PVG to AMS and FRA from April 1st to April 13th.
CA (Air China) have cancelled some flights from PVG to AMS and FRA from Apirl 4th to April 9th and shifted some flights to CKG (Chongqing).
Upcoming Public Holiday
April 3rd to April 5th will be public holiday (Qingming Festival) for China.
April 2nd will be working day in lieu.
We will keep you updated as necessary until the situation resumes to normal operations. Please reach out to your local Crane Worldwide Logistics representative for support at this time.
UPDATE 12:00 PM March 29th.
Container trucks are allowed to go on road in Shanghai with the container EIR (Equipment Interchange Receipt) information and a driver’s negative covid-test result (no older than 48 hours). However, there are still different policies in the cities/provinces shippers are located in. Some provinces/cities are not allowing container trucks from Shanghai to enter, some cities request the shipper to apply for permit and pick up the container truck/truck driver from the highway exit or at the entrance into the city, and some ask drivers to do another covid test on site at the highway exit before entering into the specific city.
Thus there is no universal answer to the question whether drayage service is available or not. We have to check with the shippers/consignees one by one to understand their local policies and then mutually decide whether we should dispatch the trucks to pick up empty equipment/ loaded import containers and go on road.
Since our ocean CFS in Pudong is running normally (we have staff staying in CFS), for cargo that are already in our CFS, we can complete container stuffing and send the loaded containers to terminal.
Container yards in Pudong are now open, compared with yesterday morning when some were closed. Operation hours for the container yards are 8:00AM to 8:00PM now, not around the clock 24/7.
FTL and LTL trucks are still not allowed to go on road in Pudong area. This prohibits the pickup and delivery of air shipments, and ocean LCL shipments.
Air freight: Further flight cancellations have been announced:
CA, CK, MU and CZ have announced some flight cancellations to/from LAX/ORD.
CK has also announced cancellation of CK217/March 29th to AMS.
QR has announced to cancel all their flights to and from Shanghai (PVG) from March 31st until April 5th 2022.
TK has announced to cancel three flights, TK6481 on April 1st, TK6479 on April 2nd, and TK6522 on April 4th.
SQ has also announced cancellation of majority filghts from March 30th to April 2nd.
Some logistics parks around PVG airport are locked down, and a lot of warehouses are affected. Due to limited staff on duty, the customs clearance was extremely slow on March. 28th. Some companies have tried to apply permits for staff and trucks, but the permit only allows them to move inside the logistics park. They cannot go out of the logistics park and send the cargo to terminals, even after customs release. Thus some warehouses have decided to suspend operation till April 1st the end of Pudong lockdown.
We will keep you updated on a daily basis until things resume normal. Please reach out to your local Crane Worldwide Logistics representative for support at this time.
The Shanghai City Government has announced on March 27th evening that Shanghai’s Pudong and Puxi area will go into staggered lockdown and undergo citywide nucleic acid testing from March 28th (Monday) morning. This has had an impact on our staff and operations.
5:00AM Monday March 28th to 5:00AM Friday April 1st
From 5am on Monday, a lockdown will first be imposed on Pudong, Punan and adjacent areas (including the Pudong New Area, Fengxian, Jinshan and Chongming districts as well as Pujin Subdistrict and Pujiang Town in Minhang District and Xinbang, Shihudang, Maogang and Yexie towns in suburban Songjiang District) to carry out nucleic acid testing. The lockdown here will be lifted at 5am on April 1.
3:00AM Friday April 1st to 3:00AM Tuesday April 5th
In Puxi, the quarantine measures for the key subdistricts and towns will continue. Other areas in Puxi will be put under lockdown from 3am on April 1 through 3am on April 5 for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing.
During the lockdown, all residential communities will be closed. All residents are required to stay at home. People and vehicles will only be allowed to enter but not exit the neighborhoods. Meal delivery and courier services will remain operating with non-contact delivery to ensure basic life necessities. Delivery staff won't be allowed to enter communities.
All local companies within the lockdown areas must conduct closed-door operations or allow staff to work from home. Public service companies, such as those dealing with water, electricity, fuel, gas, communication, transportation, meat and vegetable supplies, however, will continue to operate.
Public transport, including buses, subways, ferries, taxis and online-hailing cars, will also be completely suspended during the lockdown. Only special vehicles, such as those for pandemic prevention or ambulances, will be allowed on local roads in locked-down areas.
The COVID-19 prevention measures will be adjusted according to the evolving pandemic situation, the office noted.
Our experts in Shanghai will keep monitoring trucking and drayage service until it’s back to normal.
This information is up to 12:20 PM March 28th China time.
Crane Worldwide is keeping up to date with the current situation. Further updates will be announced when new information is received and if additional impact on the air and ocean operations is notable. Please don't hesitate to get in touch with your Crane representative for any additional information you may require at this time.
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