National Strike on February 20, 27 and March 5

Update from China: Extension of the lockdown

Due to the rise in case numbers, increased COVID-19 restrictions were taken in China, which have now been extended. This has an impact on DACHSER's operational activities:

Overview

• The number of COVID-19 cases has been increasing in Shanghai. Although the original plan called for the lockdown to end on April 1 in Pudong, it has now been extended to April 5. Residents living in communities with positive cases must be quarantined for further 7 to 14 days.
• The lockdown in Puxi started on April 1 as planned, following the same measures as taken in Pudong. It is expected to end on April 11.
• During the lockdown, measures will continue to be taken, including massive COVID-19 testing, suspension of public transport, shutdown of stores, halting production and business activities, and employees will only be allowed to work from home.

Impact on logistics

• The impact for trucking is becoming more serious, with pick-ups and deliveries being severely affected.
• For air freight, import gateway of DACHSER in PVG is operational and flights continue to land at the airport. The export gateway of DACHSER remains closed and handover is suspended until April 11, 2022. In response to this, DACHSER is working on solutions via alternative airports. Land transportation is still restricted.
• For sea freight, as of now, DACHSER has not experienced any systematic schedule changes (i.e. port omission) and the port of Shanghai is still being served as scheduled in most cases. DACHSER is monitoring the situation very closely. Effective of April 4, all LCL shipments out of Shanghai this week and the coming week are suspended. LCL shipments that have already arrived at the CFS will be handled. FCL trucking is still possible, but more and more neighboring cities are banning trucks from Shanghai. DACHSER is taking actions to divert as many shipments as possible to Ningbo via different routes.  
• For suppliers located in Zhejiang province, FCL pick-up is available for shipping out of Ningbo.
• For FCL shipments from suppliers located in Jiangsu province, where local policy may reject trucks from Zhejiang province, DACHSER is trying to arrange barge service ex Taicang port to reach vessels out of Ningbo.
• For suppliers located in other provinces, DACHSER is offering solutions case by case, or wherever barge option is possible.
• DACHSER's locations in Shanghai, including the downtown office and the PVG Airport office, have implemented a work-from-home policy since March 21, while the Huaqiao warehouse is closed. You can reach your local contact through the usual communication channels.

Local representatives at DACHSER will be happy to provide information about shipments and possible alternatives.

China Golden Week holidays: impact on operations

China celebrates its National Day on October 1, followed by official public holidays from October 1 to 3. However, it is a common local practice to have a week-long holiday. Production sites in China may stop operations earlier, or resume work later than the official holidays, especially this year when the mid-autumn festival, taking place on September 24, falls close to the National Day.

Most of the sea freight carriers announced blank sailings not only during the Golden Week period but also before and after the holidays to adjust their services in accordance with the weak market demand. Therefore, the current market situation for the trade lanes Far East-Europe as well as Far East-Americas are both challenging with limited space available. Reasons are not only the pre-holiday cargo rush but also delayed operations due to recent storms hitting the China coasts. Some carriers have been establishing additional blank sailings since week 38. The normal sailing schedule is expected to resume in week 42. For blank sailing updates on particular routes, please contact your DACHSER representative.

The Chinese customs will not accept importing clearance during the holidays. Therefore, import shipments cannot be handled on time from September 29 to October 7.
For export shipments, it is suggested sending bookings or instructions as early as possible before the Golden Week. Air freight space will be very tight and shipping equipment will be in great demand during the pre-holiday period.

DACHSER branches in China will be closed from October 1 to 7. The sea freight department at DACHSER Shenzhen branch will be operating with limited service on October 4 and 5; all further DACHSER branches in China will not be in operation until October 8. Air freight departments in most of the China branches will be under operation with limited staffing. Only shipments with pre-booking notice will be handled.

Lunar New Year 2024 – Key dates and impact on logistics

The Lunar New Year for the beginning of the "Year of the Dragon" takes place on 10 February 2024 and is the biggest festival in Chinese communities where people celebrate the start of a new year with their families.

DACHSER testing electric heavy truck

In spring 2018, Mercedes-Benz will deliver ten fully electric heavy eActros trucks to transport companies and fleet operators in Germany and Switzerland. DACHSER has secured one of these sought-after vehicles from what’s known as the innovation fleet and will be putting it through its paces.