We are now two shipping seasons into COVID, and it remains important for shippers to stay educated about its impact on global trade, especially as we get into peak season, so that they can best manage expectations with foreign-based customers.<\/p>\n\n
A year and a half into the epidemic, the disruption to global supply systems is worsening, causing consumer product shortages, and increasing the cost of shipping items. For retailers and holiday customers, this is bad news. Shoppers should expect higher costs and fewer options this Holiday season, and some companies such as Adidas, Crocs, and Hasbro have already announced that they anticipate challenges going into Peak season.<\/p>\n\n
To illustrate the dramatic impact of COVID on global operations, let\u2019s look at an incident that took place in China in early August. The country had to shut down a terminal at the Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, the world\u2019s third busiest container port, after a worker tested positive for Covid-19. Not only did this force some major international shipping companies such as Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd to modify their timetables in order to avoid the port (which in turn caused delays), but the impact on operations at China\u2019s other ports was enormous. And while the situation has been contained, and the terminal reopened after a 2-week hiatus, experts still predict that it will take 60 days for activities at the port to resume to normal levels.<\/p>\n\n