Toronto, February 7, 2020
The spread of the Coronavirus has had a significant impact on air and ocean carriers as well as importers.
The list of air carriers suspending services to China continues to grow and includes carriers such as Air Canada, Air France, Lufthansa, British Airways and Delta Airlines. It is anticipated that flight schedules will be affected up until March. At this point, airfreight is limited to freighters only, which are typically more expensive than general airfreight as there are no passengers to contribute to the flight costs.
In addition, Chinese ports are taking strict precautionary measures which is likely to impact the rate at which ocean containers are loaded or discharged, while the lack of stevedores and truck drivers is contributing to slow vessel turnaround times. With the extension of Lunar New Years and closure of Chinese factories for an additional 2 weeks, the cancellation of a number of sailings is expected to counter the lack of demand over the first few weeks of February. The overall disruption to the industry is expected to extend into March.
We will closely monitor this situation and provide more information when available.
For more information, please call Debbie McGuire, Manager – Freight Solutions at (905) 882-4880, ext. 1308.