Lockdown in Shanghai from March 28 up until April 5

The lockdown will be conducted in two phases

From March 28 to April 1, the east side of Shanghai (Pudong) will be under lockdown. From April 1 to April 5, it will be the turn of the west side of the city (Puxi). In the lockdown area, public transport will be completely shut down, and all companies and factories will have to temporarily suspend their activities or be forced to work from home.

Due to the lockdown, DSV Shanghai employees are currently largely working from home. The same applies to the local staff of all airlines and shipping companies with which we work closely. This may possibly lead to delays in the local handling of, for example, cargo or freight documentation.

We expect a significant impact on the logistics process:

Air Export

Even though the Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) is still operating terminals and customs clearance with a closed-loop management, normal operations are very difficult as transportation between export warehouses and terminals is currently not possible. The authorities are working on special permits enabling drivers to enter PVG with a negative COVID test that is less than 48 hours old. However, as of now these options remain limited.

We are working on solutions to route more cargo to alternative airports such as Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport (CGO). To avoid operational bottlenecks at PVG, shipments from eastern China will not be routed to PVG for the time being, but directly dispatched to alternative airports. Larger consignments can be dispatched directly, while smaller consignments will be consolidated in Kunshan and then dispatched. We are also searching for additional capacities out of CGO and other airports. It’s expected this will have further impact on air freight rates.

Air Import

Airfreight import shipments can still be processed at Shanghai airport, but the lack of available trucking resources can lead to significant delays getting cargo transported to consignees. If possible, we recommend using Zhengzhou airport as a potential alternative import gateway. Where shipments are affected by these lockdown measures, our team will contact you for possible alternatives.

Ocean Export (FCL)

Key facilities and ports are in principle operational, the key constrain relates to trucking access to bring cargo from Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces into Shanghai.

As it looks, it will still be possible for non-Shanghai trucking companies to enter Shanghai ports with FTLs and full container loads, so we expect that the majority of FCL shipments can be handled via Shanghai ports.

Ocean Export (LCL)

LCL operations at Shanghai ports, however, are currently affected. Therefore, we recommend using Ningbo as an alternative gateway, and our teams in Shanghai and Ningbo are closely coordinating in this respect.

Ocean Import

Ocean import operations remain largely functional, but shipments might see considerable delays.

Contact us for further assistance

All operations / booking windows remain unchanged. Customers can communicate with the respective branches as usual, and our operations will coordinate the cargo routing accordingly. As your reliable logistic partner in global transport and logistics, we are closely monitoring the situation and striving to help you navigate the challenges with feasible alternative solutions.