Floods in China disrupts supply chains

"Business activities and infrastructure in Xiantao and Wuhan in the Hubei province are experiencing severe disruptions to global supply chains for medical components, protective equipment, and non-woven fabric products, among others." Resilinc's spokesperson told Supply Chain Dive in an email.

Dealmed, a medical equipment supplier in the United States, told Reuters that floods were "creating a major obstacle for labor protection items imported into the United States."

After rainy days, meteorologists expect the water level to continue to rise throughout the week. The China National Meteorological Center predicts rainfall of 4 to 6 inches from Tuesday to Thursday in Sichuan, Anhui, Hubei and Henan provinces, according to the Nikkei Asain Review. China's flood warning system is currently in the red state, which is the highest alert level, the report said.

Rain also has an impact on shipping companies' operations, but the situation is reportedly improving. Cold plugs are unlikely to be provided, which is affecting the movement of refrigerated items.

Hapag-Lloyd noted to its customers: "Import container pick-up activities have been severely impacted and as a result reefer plugs are highly utilized especially at the port of Yantian and Ningbo". "We seek your assistance to pick-up your container as soon as released by customs."

Maersk said it has suspended operations in many inland ports due to floods in Anhui and Jiangxi provinces.

"Right now, only one terminal, a common user facility in Anqing in the Anhui province on the Yangtze River, is operationally suspended. The other affected inland terminals are operating with slightly lower productivities."

Shippers should understand the situation is delayed in the affected area, C.H. Robinson told Supply Chain Dive.

"C.H. Robinson is paying close attention to the closure and disruption at some ports along the Yangtze due to the recent severe flooding," said John Chen, vice president of Global Forwarding Asia at C.H. Robinson, told Supply Chain Dive in an email. "Ports in Anhui and Hubei provinces are impacted with equipment issues as well as feeder and haulage delays while ports in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces are functioning normally."

A DSV spokesman said floods "haven’t caused any major disruptions" to the company's supply chain.

The economic impact of this flood could be as high as $ 12 billion, according to Nikkei estimates.

Phaata (Adapted from Supply Chain Dive)

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