SOURCE: China port closure further disrupts Australian trade (afr.com)
EXTRACT:
"This is further significantly impacting on Australian trade from the region, still reeling after delays at Yantian, where similar health concerns resulted in extensive delays for several weeks up until mid-June," said Paul Zalai, the director of the Freight & Trade Alliance, which represents Australian importers and exporters.
He said shipping lines were desperately trying to maintain some control amid disrupted sailing schedules, but this was adding to pressure already on Australian exporters from soaring logistics costs and industrial action.
"Even ports at Singapore and Hong Kong that set the benchmark in best practice in normal times are experiencing several weeks of delays in transhipping containerised cargo via their terminals," Mr Zalai said.
"The downstream impact is being felt hard locally, with shipping lines daily advising our industry of port omissions across Australia's container terminal."