Tag Archives: China

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Reefer crisis – stranded perishables rot at Chinese ports

The unprecedented effect of China’s Coronavirus actions on supply chains continues to astound us. Sam Whelan’s article points out that quarantines on drivers moving between cities and/or ports have caused driver shortages. Cold chain goods can’t be moved and lie rotting in the box. How can food and perishables shippers function in such an environment?

Firms are also charging extra fees for handling and storage. A lot of the trouble is with goods coming to China from neighbors such as India. there are some issues with US exports to China as well.

By Sam Whelan

13/02/2020

via Reefer crisis looms as stranded perishables rot at congested Chinese ports – The Loadstar

Flexport access to SF Airlines’ Hangzhou-New York route

This article from the Loadstar indicates that supply chain firms such as Flexport are struggling to align themselves for the volatile tariff situation we have now. Some firms are leaving China but others are staying in and look for an alternate shipment method with more speed and smaller inventory.

SF Airlines (Wikipedia) is a Chinese cargo airline with headquarters in Shenzen, Guangdong Province. They have about 55 aircraft. SF submitted an application to the USDOT last week for a 3x per week service on the Hangzhou-New York route. We will see if approval is granted.

Flexport indicated they are seeing a dropoff in trade with China. But 3PLs like Flexport work to help companies transport goods from anywhere. Rearrangement of transport becomes the norm, and their business depends on success for their customers.

via Flexport confirms access to SF Airlines’ services between Hangzhou and New York – The Loadstar

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Posted on May 22, 2019 by just2bruce in Logistics, Strategy, Supply Chains

Tagged 3PLs, air freight, China, trade, transportation

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Swine fever set to reduce China’s soybean imports further: USDA

Asim Anand writes in Platts agriculture report that China is suffering from substantial losses in their pig population due to African swine fever (ASF). The pig herd has declined by 20%, and that translates to less need for soybeans. Estimates run to 22 million mt less.

I’ve been watching the world soybean flows since 2014 when my colleague Cris Clott and I, working with Althea and Libby Ogard, and with help from Scott Sigman, wrote an article about the soybean flows and the possibilities for containerization of soybeans as opposed to bulk transport.

US soybean exports to China have fallen by 85% due to the imposition of a tariff of 25% on US products by China. So world wide there is a glut of soybeans and prices are dropping fast. Prices of US soybeans are under $9 per bushel, the lowest since 2016. (See graph from USDA-NASS).

Prices Received: Soybean Prices Received by Month, US

Graph from https://www.nass.usda.gov/Charts_and_Maps/Agricultural_Prices/pricesb.php retrieved 2019-05-14.

We can expect this trend to continue, and as the trade war with China escalates, US soybeans will cease to be exported to China at all. Exports represent about half of the US production each year, and China is the largest customer. We can hope for a change, but I’m guessing this market is virtually gone for the US, as the other soybean-producing countries, Brazil and Argentina especially, move in and establish supply chains around the world.