Back to work in China? Perhaps not
Last week government authorities in China were advising that with the exception of Hubei province ( February 13) other provinces would return to work after the extended Chinese New Year holiday on February 9. However, as China continues to drastically look to control the Coronavirus, the full return to work for many cities may now be February 17.
It looks as if the return to work will be much slower than anticipated. Although China is presenting an optimistic front, many employees remain wary about returning to an open environment with other people.
However, there is the feeling that a closed China would be disastrous for not just the economy but its citizens and some reports are commenting that normal work services should resume in the best interest of their employees.
Forwarding capacity is expected to be significantly impacted, with Shenzhen and Ningbo forwarders advising that the provinces remain closed, albeit there is work from home arrangements in place. Of course, this doesn’t assist the physical movement of cargoes destined for Australia or to be received into China.
The feeling is that there isn’t a hard date for China to ‘open’; rather a more fluid process with many provinces/cities/corporations erring on the side of caution and suggesting that a slower return to work may be appropriate given the scope of the virus and the concern in the community.