Trucker snarl disrupts Chinese port

Shipping line warns of restrictions after flare-up of covid-19

A suspension of trucking services in several parts of East China’s Zhejiang province has slowed the transportation of manufactured goods and commodities through one of the world’s most important ports.

There are strict controls on trucks moving goods to or from the Beilun district in Ningbo after the discovery of several cases of covid-19 in the area, shipping line A.P. MollerMaersk said in a Thursday customer advisory. This suspension, along with restrictions on truckers in some areas in and around Zhejiang, has halted operations at some yards and warehouses at Ningbo port.

The curbs began last week after the city reported an outbreak of covid-19 which led to the closure of schools, warehouses and companies in the Beilun district near the port.

“Any delays at Ningbo come at a bad time for global supply chains, which are suffering from the logjams created by the pandemic,” said consultant Russell Group in an e-mail. “Unfortunately, the situation may get worse, with the Chinese Lunar New Year, as companies cannot stock up their inventories for the upcoming months, forcing them to either look for alternative shipping or products, all of which will feed into higher costs for the consumer.”

The holiday, celebrated in China and in other parts of Asia, starts around the end of this month and usually means a two-week lull in factory production.

Ports around the world have been struggling to ease congestion as the pandemic heads into a third year. Ningbo is one of the world’s top container gateways and a crucial part of the global supply chains that connect factories in East China to consumers of automobiles, machines, electronics and toys in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere.