The Effect of Covid 19 on Importing

[Walter Hay]

I will deal mainly with the shipping situation, first outlining what is happening in and out of China, then Parcel Post, the Sea Cargo situation, and finally Air Cargo including courier services.

CHINA: Production is starting to recover well in some industries, but there are still logistical problems. There will be delays in manufacturing to meet new orders, and shipping is slow.

If your suppliers can ship through Hong Kong the delays will be less, because HK is functioning more or less as usual. It could be worth asking about that before confirming an order. USPS is experiencing delays in mail services to and from China, and even HK is not completely back to normal as far as postage is concerned. See notice from China Postal Service below.

PARCEL POST: A number of countries have suspended mail services and parcels seem to be affected more than letters. If a country is handling inbound parcels they will usually also handle export parcels. Exceptions abound, so I have noted what destinations will or will not be served. If there are no exceptions noted that means I have had to assume that something like normal service applies.

The following countries are all still handling outbound parcels.
Italy
UK
Spain
Israel
Australia: Australia Post has notified delays, but outbound parcels are still being processed.
Germany: Deutsche Post advises it is currently unable to transport mail to a growing number of countries due to lack of transport capacity. Acceptance of postal items destined for affected countries is suspended, and the list of affected destination countries is likely to change every day. For updates: Current information on the coronavirus.
Portugal: limited number of countries See: www.ctt.pt/transversais/alertas-envios-internacionais#fndtn-tab1
Colombia: limited See: www.4-72.com.co.
Ireland : limited See: Post & Parcels services.
Slovakia: All EU, plus Belarus, Canada, Serbia, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom and United States.
Greece: Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Νorth Macedonia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland. This list is subject to change on a daily basis.
Serbia: USA and some other countries – contact postal service for details.
Mexico: Canada and USA only.
Sweden: European Union, with the exception of Cyprus and Malta. It also can send mail to Canada, Hong Kong, Iceland, Iran, Japan, South Korea, Liechtenstein, Norway, Qatar, Russian Federation, Singapore, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States and Vietnam. This list is subject to change. Visit www.postnord.se/en/about-us/how-the-coronavirus-is-affecting-our-deliveries
New Zealand limited see www.nzpost.co.nz/contact-support/international-mail-updates
Malaysia: All outbound airmail items to the following countries are expected to be severely delayed: Austria, Belgium, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Canada and United States. (NOTE: Parcels may or may not be regarded as airmail.)
China: China Post advises that it is taking steps to prevent and minimize the spread of the coronavirus. It notes that according to the World Health Organization, coronaviruses do not survive for long on objects. The post says it is therefore safe to receive postal items from China without risk of contracting the virus.
Belgium: Within “Europe” only.
Norway: EU and Australia, Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong, Iceland, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and United Kingdom.

SEA CARGO: Sea freight is far less affected by the pandemic, but shipping is undoubtedly slower than usual. Within China there have been some river traffic disruptions. For example the Yangtze runs through Wuhan and carries a huge amount of freight. Those disruptions are largely a thing of the past.
Delays on the outward bound side of ocean shipping are being improved but there are some delays at receiving ports.
Some countries such as Singapore and Australia have refused to allow any ship that’s been at a Chinese port in the preceding two weeks into their ports, while other countries - like South Korea - have also put stringent screening measures in place.

AIR CARGO AND COURIER SERVICES.
With so many airlines having suspended their passenger routes, air freight capacity has dropped substantially. Now that Chinese manufacturing is starting up again there will be a growing demand for air freight. There is already evidence of the supply/demand law resulting in rate increases in the 25% to 30% range.
Countering this effect somewhat is that a number of airlines are using their passenger aircraft exclusively for freight. In many cases, parcels are being strapped into passenger seats.
Couriers have also been affected by the pandemic. FedEx, UPS, and DHL have suspended services to a number of countries, mainly because of tight government restrictions in those countries. Courier services have mostly imposed emergency surcharges and those that haven’t will almost certainly do so.

ARE THERE ANY OPPORTUNITIES ARISING? The only good thing I can see coming out of the present situation is that it could alert importers to appreciate the need to avoid keeping all their eggs in one basket.

By that I mean that if you are importing a range of products from China, perhaps you should consider obtaining some products from other countries. Even if part of your product range is no subject to tariff wars, or things like a second round of Coronavirus in China, at last you won’t be totally starved of products to sell.

You might even find that your customers like the idea of buying products that are not made in China, even if they cost more.

Walter

 

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