Dear Valued Customer,
The spread of COVID-19 virus continues to impact the world as a whole, as well as it is increasingly impacting the logistics & transportation sector globally. With further countries declaring a full society lockdown with only essential cargo being approved for transportation, we increasingly experience delays for general cargo and latest this is the case in countries such as India, Vietnam, Pakistan and Spain also owed to the fact that many production and DC facilities have discontinued operations in these countries.
With this said, it is also becoming more and more challenging to provide a generic update on a country level, as many factors by now impact the ability to move cargo in and out of countries.
We are in many cases able to find solutions even in countries where a full and general lockdown has been declared, and encourage specific requests are sent to your regular Scan Global Logistics contact person.
The transportation & logistics sector is as a rule of thumb considered critical infrastructure, and additionally we are in constant dialogue with ocean carriers, airlines, rail operators and hauliers to find new and alternative routings which until now has proven to be possible. An example is our first “own” block train from China to Europe, which you can read about here. Another is the air charter, we arranged from the Nordics to US, which you can read about here.
The traffic light update included in this advisory is basis general cargo, hence note that for essential cargo such as medicine, medical supplies, aid cargo, foodstuff and perishables we will find ways to move it, ensuring we play our part in keeping critical supplies moving.
Lastly, we are starting to see the first significant signs of a major volume slow down across all transport modes as many orders are put on hold or altogether cancelled. This is a natural result of many of the traditional consumer industries being under lockdown across the globe, leading to a dramatic reduction in consumer spending. This will no doubt have an effect on the supply side with many ocean carriers as an example having announced the suspension of key sailings, with schedule delays as a result.
With China showing the way, we remain confident that we will come out on the other side stronger than ever before having identified new and innovative solutions along the way.
For further details on specifics countries and mode of transport, see our overview here.
All information in this advisory is offered to the best of our knowledge and is prone to change.
Yours sincerely,
WORLD LINE