UPDATE: Coronavirus/COVID-19 Origin Operation
Over the past week or so, the China government has reportedly lowered COVID-19 emergency response levels in some provinces, allowing workforce back into production. Return-to-work restrictions/requirements from the Chinese local authorities and some office building management teams remain in place.
A larger portion of our colleagues in China have returned to the offices, and the team is strictly following precautionary measures. While some teammates are working from home, we are operationally ready to manage business as normal:
Shanghai, Ningbo, Taiwan and Hong Kong: 100% of the teams are working in the office.
Qingdao: 90% of the team is working in the office, with 10% working from home.
Shenzhen: 60% of the team is working in the office, with 40% working from home.
Xiamen, Fuzhou and Tianjin: 50% of the team is working in the office, with 50% working from home.
Dalian: 40% of the team is working in the office, with 60% working from home.
We continue to work with the relevant authorities to bring the full team safely back into our offices.
Other Market Developments
Drayage in China: Cross-border trucking between China and Hong Kong continues to run, but it is highly recommended that bookings are made at least 2 days in advance to ensure driver availability.
Availability of inland trucking in mainland China remains limited, advanced bookings of at least 2-3 days are required to secure trucking services.
International Air and Ocean Freight: Production and export volumes from China have increased as the workforce returns, and demand for airfreight space, particularly to the rest of Asia, is picking up. There are also indications that ocean freight shippers are looking to switch modes in a bid to ‘catch up’ on schedules, further accelerating the demand for airfreight.
We are not expecting a quick reinstatement of cancelled airfreight capacity on both freighter and passenger flights outbound China, which we estimate to be well above 30% of last year’s global capacity (50% to the US, 50% to Asia, 35% to Europe), particularly passenger flights, as many countries maintain advisories against travel to China. At this point, we anticipate that airlines will initiate a resumption of capacity no earlier than the third week of March.
Airfreight rates soared on the China-Asia routes as capacity pulled out of this market is most significant, and demand for space has become ‘red-hot’. Air charters are in high demand, but supply is soft as the availability of aircraft and crew remain challenged.
The fallout from COVID-19 is strongly felt in the container shipping market. According to Alphaliner, Q1 2020 volumes at ports in China and Hong Kong are estimated to have reduced by more than 6 million TEUs due to the extended Lunar New Year holiday and COVID-19 containment measures.
Currently, container equipment is sufficient in China, but the availability of Non-Operating Reefers (NOR) is diminishing.
We will continue to update you as we receive more information. If you have questions, please contact your BOC Representative.
Coronavirus / COVID-19 Operational Update
- Work Arrangements – Our teams are working as much as possible, guided by advice from local authorities to protect the well-being of our staff while maintaining maximum coverage and minimal operational disruption as possible
- In China, our team is operating either from our offices or their homes, and we have implemented tiered working hours.
- In Hong Kong, a portion of our staff is working from home while the rest is working from the office.
- Market Developments
- Factories in China are gradually resuming operations at a varying pace, a slow ramp-up in production and exports are still to be expected.
- Drayage in China: Various provinces and cities have imposed restrictions on the entry of non-residents and vehicles registered outside their localities. This has given rise to a shortage and/or rate increase of inland trucking in the mainland China as truck drivers have not been able to return from their hometowns to their work regions post-holiday. Advanced bookings of at least 2 days is required to secure trucking services.
- Air Freight: A large number of passenger and freighter flights to and from China have been cancelled, severely impacting capacity. Though freighter flights have gradually been reinstated from last week, with demand far outstripping supply, airfreight rates will likely be much higher than normal.
- Ocean Freight: All Chinese ports except Wuhan are currently operational. However, many container yards have yet to re-open, potentially causing equipment shortages.
- Global Port Developments
We will continue to monitor the situation closely and provide updates as we have them. Please contact your BOC Representative, if you have any questions.
Airlines Cancel Flights to/from China, Coronavirus
Delta, American airlines to stop all China flights as coronavirus crisis grows
Delta and American on Friday temporarily canceled all of their China flights in response to the coronavirus outbreak, becoming the first domestic carriers to make the move.
As of Friday, the outbreak had infected nearly 10,000 people, most of them in China, and killed more than 200, all in China.
The U.S. State Department late Thursday elevated its China travel advisory to level 4, recommending that Americans do not travel there. That change followed the World Health Organization’s declaration of a global health emergency over coronavirus.
Tuesday White House officials said they were considering a China travel ban but said then they had not contacted the airlines. Still, if United, the other U.S. carrier serving China with nonstop flights, follows its rivals’ lead, the need for White House intervention may be moot. United has already reduced its scheduled China flights.
American Airlines
American cited the State Department’s updated travel advisory Friday in suspending its U.S.-China routes immediately through March 28. The airline said it would contact the affected customers directly to help them make alternate travel arrangements.
“We will continue to evaluate the schedule for March 28 and beyond and make any adjustments as necessary,” the airline said in a statement.
Delta Airlines
Atlanta-based Delta on Friday said it would suspend its U.S.-China flights from Feb. 6 through April 30.
Coronavirus Grounds Flights to China From 3 Continents. How Scared Should Travelers Be?
Source: https://time.com/5774906/airlines-ground-flights-coronavirus/
Airlines in Europe, Asia and North America are cancelling flights to and from China as the novel coronavirus, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has infected at least a few thousand people in China and dozens beyond its borders.
Although all 171 deaths from the disease have been limited to China, at least 82 people across 18 different countries have tested positive for the mysterious illness, prompting governments around the world to issue travel advisories and start evacuating their citizens from Wuhan. Chinese authorities have shut down travel in and out of Wuhan and enacted similar, strict transportation restrictions in a number of other cities.
The majority of cases outside China are associated with travel to China and of those, the vast majority involve travel to Wuhan, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Which airlines have cancelled flights?
British Airways cancelled all flights to and from Beijing and Shanghai until at least Friday following local authorities’ advice against “all but essential travel to mainland China.” Flights to and from Hong Kong will remain unaffected, the airline said.
British Airways cancelled all flights to and from Beijing and Shanghai until at least Friday following local authorities’ advice against “all but essential travel to mainland China.” Flights to and from Hong Kong will remain unaffected, the airline said.
UPDATE – China extends Lunar New Year holidays to
contain coronavirus outbreak – updated Jan 30, 2020
Update: the Chinese government has extended CNY holidays in China, in order to help keep people safe and contain the coronavirus. A few additional China Cities/Provinces, Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangsu, Shandong, Zhejiang, have extended their earliest permissible dates for businesses to resume operations. The General Office of the State Council said in its announcement that the measure is taken to effectively reduce mass gatherings, block the spread of the epidemic, and to better safeguard the safety and health of the people.
All businesses, including our industry, are mandatorily required to obey the posted closings (below).
Our origin offices in China will resume operations as follows:
- February 10 – Shanghai, Ningbo, Shenzhen, Xiamen, Fuzhou and Qingdao
- February 3 – the remainder of China not listed above
Please note that the above list is subject to change according to government announcements that may follow.
In order to minimize operational impact, within reason (whilst keeping in mind the containment of virus outbreak), we have limited staff working from home to attend to bookings / urgent issues where required. This arrangement applies to locations that will remain closed next week. Please note, however, that many companies, such as shippers, are simply remaining closed until the dates listed above, so gathering information and documents is difficult.
Our team in Taiwan resumed work today (January 30), and Hong Kong resumed operations yesterday (January 29), with special arrangements to minimize exposure to the virus (e.g. staff to work from home or flexible hours in office for remainder of this week).
Your understanding and patience is appreciated.
Please contact your BOC Representative if you have questions.
China extends Lunar New Year holidays to contain coronavirus outbreak
China has announced a nationwide extension to the Lunar New Year holidays as a measure to contain the coronavirus outbreak. The Shanghai municipal government further announced that companies may only resume office on February 10.
The holiday, originally to end on January 30, has been extended to February 2 nationwide.
Our offices in China will resume operations as follows:
- February 10 in Shanghai and Ningbo
- February 3 in the rest of China
While Hong Kong officially returns to the office from the holidays on Wednesday, the 29th, we expect some impact to our ocean and air freight operations based out of China.
We will monitor the situation and keep you updated.
Thank you very much.
Please contact your BOC Representative with any questions.
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Notice of Modification of Section 301 Action:
China’s Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation
SUMMARY: In accordance with the direction of the President, the U.S. Trade Representative has determined to modify the action being taken in this Section 301 investigation by reducing the rate of additional duty on certain products of China from 15 percent to 7.5 percent.
DATES: Applicable as of 12:01 am Eastern Standard Time on February 14, 2020, the rate of additional duty will be 7.5 percent for products covered by Annex A of the August 20, 2019 notice (84 FR 43304).
Read the full notice at below link:
New AD/CV Duties Possible on
Wood Moldings and Millwork Products
A petition filed Jan. 8 alleges that wood moldings and millwork products from Brazil and China are being sold at less than fair value in the U.S. market and that such items from China are benefitting from countervailable subsidies. The alleged average dumping margins are 268.74 percent for Brazil and 289.70 to 361.83 percent for China.
The Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission will next determine whether to launch AD and/or CV duty and injury investigations, respectively, on these products. There are strict statutory deadlines associated with these proceedings, so affected companies that wish to protect their interests should contact Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg as soon as possible.
CN Rail strike begins, threatening Canada oil, grain shipments
By: Thomas Black | Nov 19, 2019 at 07:57 AM | Intermodal News
About 3,200 workers at Canadian National Railway Co. went on strike at midnight Tuesday, threatening to crimp shipments of oil, potash and grain across the country.
Conductors and railyard operators at Canada’s largest railway walked off the job after failing to reach an agreement with the company over issues including working conditions and drug benefits, the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference union said.
“Unfortunately, we were unable to reach a deal with CN,” the union said in a statement. Workers have been without a contract since July and served a strike notice on Saturday.
CN Rail is one of two main rail networks that Canada uses to ship consumer goods and exports of canola, wheat, potash and other resources from the prairies to seaports. The company carries C$250 billion ($189 billion) worth of goods annually and has increasingly been moving into shipping oil amid a bottleneck of pipelines from Alberta’s oil sands.
A representative for the Montreal-based company declined to immediately comment on the strike. On Saturday, it said it continued to negotiate in good faith and had offered to go to binding arbitration, which the union rejected.
Managers may step in to operate trains, blunting the impact of any walkout. Allison Landry, an analyst with Credit Suisse Group AG, said a walkout may crimp CN’s cargo volume, the labor action likely wouldn’t last long and the impact on the company’s earnings wouldn’t be meaningful.
“Historically, rail strikes have lasted a few days, and the Canadian government has been quick to step in and implement back-to-work legislation given the significant threat to the economy,” Landry said in a note to clients.
Government Monitoring
Still, the government may have less leverage to push for a resolution over the next couple of weeks because parliament isn’t scheduled to convene until Dec. 5. That could delay the adoption of back-to-work legislation until then.
Canadian Labor Minister Patty Hajdu traveled to Montreal on Monday to meet representatives from both sides. In a Nov. 16 statement, Hajdu said the federal government is monitoring the situation closely and “has faith” in the collective bargaining process.
The Teamsters argue that workers are being forced to operate trains alone from outside the locomotive while hanging on to moving trains with one hand and working a remote-control device in the other, creating a safety hazard. The union is also balking at a lifetime cap on prescription drug coverage and said the company is making it more difficult to take time off and work longer hours.
Canadian National fell 0.2% to close at C$123.76 in Toronto on Monday. It has gained 22% this year.
China 301 Tariffs and Exclusions, Updated
List of China section 301 exclusions as of today:
List of
all commodities on China
Section 301 additional duties:
https://www.strtrade.com/assets/htmldocuments/USTR%20301%20All%20Lists%20Combined.pdf
