Freight & Trade Alliance (FTA) provide the following update for members / industry on the coronavirus situation.
IMPACTS ON SHIPPING
In response to a request from the Department of Infrastructure, FTA sought input from a number of members on how they and their clients were currently being impacted by the coronavirus outbreak in China.
The information we received varied from forwarder to forwarder and also region to region within China. However the overriding theme was that the situation is still very much fluid and changing daily.
Return to work in some provinces has now been extended by some companies / local authorities out till February 24 and confirms, as per our earlier reports suggesting that services and supply of goods is likely to be impacted well into March.
Our advice has and continues to be that you should maintain close liaison with your agents / suppliers, airfreight and shipping lines. A number of forwarders have situation status data on their websites which is being updated regularly, some are
Geodis Australia
Agility Logistics
ECU Worldwide
FTA have also approached Maersk, MSC and ONE for commentary on the impacts on their services to Australia. Once these are received will will update members accordingly.
INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE
Due in the main to the volume of traffic, importers and shipping lines in the China / Europe and China / USA trade lanes are being hit much harder. As reported on "The Loadstar" website there are some reports of a vessel with capability for 23,000 teu and sailing with only 2000 teu on board. Clearly these levels of freight are unsustainable and will no doubt have an impact on decisions re further blank sailings and therefore impact on supply chains.
Please note the below links for updated informationFURTHER INFORMATION
FTA suggest members / industry maintain close relations with their forwarders , agents , shipping lines, suppliers and clients in China to ensure they have the latest information available.
To stay abreast of all developments and general information concerning the Novel Coronavirus we suggest members maintain a watching brief on the Department of Health website
FTA will continue to monitor issues surrounding the coronavirus and keep members updated as necessary. |