CORONAVIRUS UPDATE

Last week government authorities in China were advising that with the exception of Hubei province ( February 13) other provinces would return to work after the extended Chinese New Year holiday on February 9. However from talking to industry and receipt of notices from various lines the full return to work for many cities may now be February 17.

In discussion with a number of our agents and review of global publications it would appear the return to work is to be much slower than anticipated with many employees wary about returning to an open environment with other people

Agent contacts, supported by news reports, comment in general that many provinces / cities are being advised to manage the return to work in the best interest of their employees. Some agents we have spoken to advise that Shenzhen and Ningbo still remain closed, albeit their is work from home arrangements in place. This however does not assist the physical movement of cargoes destined for Australia or to be received into China.

Our agent contacts also advise that the "return to work" for Hubei province is now scheduled for February 17. Information, as of Feb 6,  from Ocean Network Express (ONE) is that they do not expect to have return to work in their offices in China till February 17 

The feeling within the community is that any return to work and full capacity will be a slow build and the lower volumes of cargo moving may extend into early March. 

Some links facts that you may find of interest into the broader issues of the virus and the impacts are shown below;

• schools are not going back till end of February
• corporations are encouraging anyone with a laptop / remote access to work from home
• the coronavirus and freight forwarding (TT Club article)
• what are the insurance implications
• global overview
• shipping notifications