Shippers are being warned of the impact of China’s zero-Covid policy, which sent millions in the country into lockdown over the weekend and sparked a fresh wave of supply chain concerns.
China’s National Health Commission reported Monday 1,437 new cases in mainland China, which is roughly quadruple the number of new cases reported a week ago.
Shenzhen, Shanghai, Dongguan and Jilin province are in various states of lockdown as the 1.3-billion-strong country looks to contain the flare-up.
State media reported Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan during a Saturday meeting with state officials called for strict measures to stem the latest outbreaks, including nucleic acid testing, antigen screening and quarantines.
“With lockdowns impacting both Shenzhen and Shanghai, sourcing teams should plan to go back to a situation where every order is treated as an exception case,” Brian Glick, CEO of supply chain integration platform Chain.io, told Sourcing Journal. “Close collaboration with vendors and freight forwarders is key—with passenger fights being diverted and potential airport shutdowns in play, falling back to airfreight may not be feasible. Make sure you’re clearly prioritizing your ‘hot list’ with all partners so you can make sure you get the highest priority goods out with the space you can secure.”
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