The city of Shanghai is chaining massive restrictions to deal with the Omicron variant and the resurgence of Covid-19 cases. The country’s zero-Covid strategy is very restrictive, the port of Shanghai, the largest in the world, is completely at a standstill and hundreds of shippers are blocked. Supply problems raise the specter of further bottlenecks in Europe.
Almost 500 ships are waiting in front of the port of Shanghai to unload and load their goods. exactly this restrictive captivity settle in the largest city in China (25 million inhabitants). Tame the Omicron variantand respecting Beijing’s “zero Covid” strategy has led to a real one in recent days connector plug.
The commercial port of Shanghai, The biggest in the world in terms of tonnage, therefore works slower due to government restrictions. Due to a lack of dockworkers, pilots and port employees, the port is no longer able to function the huge traffic that he usually gets.
Significant logistical problems reflected in the presence of a hundred boats this Wednesday, April 20th Hangzhou Bay between the East China Sea and the Yangzi Jiang, Huangpu and Qiantang rivers.
With Shanghai in near-total lockdown, this is a map of merchant ships currently waiting offshore to be loaded and unloaded with goods. Worsening of global supply chain problems pic.twitter.com/Md6PtpF3VE
— Scott Gottlieb, MD (@ScottGottliebMD) April 18, 2022
With Shanghai in almost total lockdown, here is a map of merchant ships currently offshore waiting to be loaded and unloaded with goods; exacerbating global supply chain problems, Scot Gottlieb, former Commissioner of the Sea, said on Twitter United States.
Heading towards a shortage in Europe?
result of it monster hat, the global supply chains, which have been severely disrupted since 2020, are unlikely to return to their pre-crisis pace. Worse, problems could make exacerbate the already tense situation and lead to further shortages in Europe and the rest of the world.
So if commodities can be disrupted, other commodities should be affected. First everything about the house: PlatePlastic products, gardening… But also articles by Sports or computer equipment Paul TourretDirector of the Isemar Maritime Observatory in Ouest-France.
The lockdown in Shanghai is not easing at the moment. Port capacity continues to decline.
Inflation will be there for a while. The prices of many tradable goods will take some time to stabilize. pic.twitter.com/xdP3is4Bwo
— Rodrigo Zeidan (@RodZeidan) April 19, 2022
By the way, Rodrigo Zeidan, associate professor of economics and finance in Shanghai, showed a graphic the intense tension currently about the Capability of the port to manage containers compared to 2021.
Many of these products are manufactured in this part of China and transported through the port of Shanghai. In January 2022, 4 million containers were processed there, he said. Many companies are affected by this limitation when some stand still while others work in slow motion. Employees sometimes even have to sleep on site.
At Carrefour, employees sleep on site
Since containment began in Shanghai in early April, employees of the French group Carrefour have been sleeping in the enclosure of a supermarket of the brand to respond to online orders from residents in the area.
Since April 1, Zhang Wei, the supermarket manager, and 43 of her colleagues have been hiding at the store in Shanghai’s western suburb of Xujing, isolated from the outside world. To prepare the more than 3,000 orders of vegetables, meat and produce first necessity that his supermarket sends to locked-up residents every day, Zhang Wei wakes up at 5 a.m. after spending the night in a sleeping bag in his office.
His Carrefour is one of more than 1,000 grocery stores open during the lockdown in Shanghai, albeit under strict controls to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Local authorities are trying to increase the number of shops that are open.
Towards a relaxation of the measures?
The city has eased movement restrictions for some people in low-risk areas, but the vast majority of its 25 million residents are in strict lockdown.
Public transport remains closed and unauthorized vehicles are denied access. The only ones who can move are the police, delivery men, neighborhood committee members, and health workers.
“There is no time to rest, we are busy all dayeven during mealtimes, if neighborhood committee members show up to pick up orders or if they have an inquiry, we will help them immediately,” Zhang Wei told Reuters via video call.
Each employee has their own sleeping quarters in the three-story store, with some settling into tents for more privacy. Carrefour provided them with protective equipment such as overalls and doubled their salaries.
The chain, which is majority-owned by electronics retailer Suning.Com in China, hopes most of the brand’s other stores will be open by Saturday. Searching for food is the main concern of Shanghai residents, most of whom have been in strict detention for at least three weeks despite the situation gradually improved.
Even higher inflation?
Yesterday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported that “seismic waves” could hit the global economy in the coming months. Alarming forecasts exacerbated by the conflict in Ukraine and today this massive blockade in Shanghai.
The war adds to the series of supply shocks that have hit the global economy in recent years. Like seismic waves, its effects will flow deep and far through commodity markets, international trade, and financial relations. – Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas chief economist at the IMF.
For 2022, the IMF expects a inflation 5.7% in advanced economies and 8.7% in emerging and developing economies, up 1.8 points and 2.8 points from January, respectively. “Inflation has become a clear and present danger for many countries.”
In the whole world…
Liang Yan, an economics professor at Willamette University, told the South China Morning Post last week that “these disruptions to transportation and supply chains will add to the already existing problems in the United States and Europe.”
Already in Midi Libre, Benoit Mulkay, economics professor at the University of Montpellier and an expert in purchasing power, conjured up a global problem, particularly in maritime trade: We are in an oil shock situation, similar to that which we experienced in the 1970s, affecting almost all industries are affected or will be affected Between the embargoes against Russia and the situation in Ukraine, two major grain producers, prices in agriculture have already risen sharply, this also applies to the transport of goods, especially by sea.