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The coronavirus situation in Wuhan is rapidly developing and causing complications in the global transport industry.
Wuhan is the fast-growing capital of China’s Hubei province, located at the junction of the Yangtze and Hanshui rivers. Wuhan is a manufacturing and transport hub of global importance. There are 500 industrial enterprises in the city, most of which are associated with the automotive and transport industries.
In an effort to curb the spread of the epidemic, China has announced a mass "quarantine" to control the pathogen. Due to the spread of a new type of pneumonia caused by coronavirus 2019-nCoV, the Central Government of China extended of the New Year holidays until February 2, 2020.The municipalities of Shanghai, Suzhou, Nanjing, Wuxi, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Guangzhou and Shenzhen gave official updates on the spread of the pathogen and imposed the quarantine until February 10. Additionally, most companies have their employees working remotely until the end of February.
Vyacheslav Gural, Asia Region Director at AsstrA, comments on this situation: "Due to the spread of coronavirus, freight and rail links with Hubei Province were suspended until February 29. Theoretically, shipments can be made by air. However, the number of flights that might alleviate the logistics bottleneck has also decreased. Deliveries via both dedicated carg flights and passenger flights have been partially suspended."
As a rule, during the Chinese New Year, which lasts for a week determined by the lunar calendar, cargo traffic volume decreases. This year, the suspension of Chinese industrial activity has also lowered freight traffic during this period.
Vyacheslav Gural adds: "With regard to cargo transportation from China, exports are unlikely to be stopped. However, legislative restrictions in importing countries may be additional barriers. February should not be considered the Chinese logistics industry "high" season. At the same time, we are committed to fulfilling our obligations and will make best efforts to meet all deadlines given the circumstances. To do so, our team of experts is using alternative delivery schemes.
We hope that the global fight against coronavirus will bear fruit and the situation will stabilize as the Chinese authorities take the necessary measures to combat the virus."