Shanghai lockdown threatens to halt China's car production

Chinese automakers have warned that they will have to stop production if the COVID-19 epidemic continues in Shanghai.

Shanghai's health restrictions against the spread of the disease have forced the city's 25 million residents to stay home for weeks, forcing manufacturers to close operations and making China's goal of GDP growth of 5.5% seems unattainable.

Carriers have also warned that the Shanghai closure will cause congestion at the world's busiest container port.

The spread of COVID-19 across the country, and the related slowdown in economic activity, have hit the auto industry hard, with car sales falling 10.5 percent in March.

“If supply chain companies in and around Shanghai couldn't find a way to get to work and start production faster, all OEMs would have to stop production in the month of May,” wrote Shipping Purchasing Manager.

Containers have been piling up at Shanghai's port as the city faces limited shipping capacity.

Maersk issued a notice this week saying "several vessels will bypass Shanghai" due to a shortage of available container space at the port, particularly for specialized and reefer cargoes.

Figures from Bloomberg suggest that as many as 500 ships are currently anchored off the Chinese coast.

Source: Global Trade Review & Tech Xplore

CSAV will close its maritime vehicle transport business this year

The company will focus its efforts on the container ship business.

The South American Steam Company (CSAV) reported that it will stop providing maritime vehicle transport services within the next few months. 

According to the firm, this business has historically represented less than 1% of its total assets.

Along these lines, CSAV is informing all its customers of operational solutions to continue their transportation needs.

The General Manager of CSAV, Óscar Hasbún, explained that “the decision announced today aims to focus all our efforts on the container ship business, which has evolved according to our expectations and is our main asset through the German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd AG, one of the most efficient companies in the industry and with which we have a long-term commitment. ”

Source: Pulso