British ports ready anew the supply chain Chaos in the form of a glut of goods China Risk with long rail strike.
A ‘deluge’ of imports is expected in about six weeks as factories around Shanghai’s industrial center begin to reopen after a long Covid lockdown.
Containers loaded with goods can reach major ports such as Southampton and London Gateway The UK is going through its biggest rail strike in decades.
About a third of goods arriving in containers in the UK – mainly consumer electronics, toys, furniture and clothing – are carried by rail to their final destination.
Mick Lynch, secretary general of the Union for Rail, Maritime and Transport, has said strikes aimed at shutting down Britain’s railways this summer could go on for a ‘very, very long time’.
A ‘deluge’ of imports is expected in about six weeks as factories around Shanghai’s industrial center begin to reopen after a long Covid lockdown. Photo: A container docking in Southampton
Speaking to Sky News’ Sophie Ridge on Sunday, she did not say how much disruption the proposed ‘Summer of Discontent’ action would be, but said she planned to make the strikes “as effective as possible from our point of view”.
Shipping industry data warned of a “perfect storm” of strikes in imports and rail strikes that could lead to shipping delays and higher prices.
Simon Heaney, a supply chain researcher at Drewry, a maritime consultancy, said supply chains remain particularly vulnerable due to staff shortages and Covid-related disruptions.
Explaining the outlook, he told MailOnline: ‘China going into lockdown put a huge strain on factory production in Shanghai and its hinterland, so the risk now is that the lockdown is over and factories can pump goods. is what is going to happen. A flood of orders arriving from Shanghai and landing at the same time in ports around the world.
‘The fear is that ports are already under stress and this sudden influx could set back any recovery that we will see in the supply chain.
‘But what we don’t know yet is how soon production will resume in Shanghai.
‘And ports like Rotterdam don’t think they will be a problem. We don’t know at the moment.
‘We are also seeing a reduction in demand for containerized goods due to inflation, which may reduce the likelihood of this becoming a serious problem.’
A worker operates a machine to knit socks at a sugar factory as industrial production resumes after a wave of lockdown sweeps the country
About a third of goods arriving in containers in the UK – mainly consumer electronics, toys, furniture and clothing – are carried by rail to their final destination. Image: A freight train leaving the port of Felixstow
Richard Ballantyne, CEO of the British Ports Association, said the impact of rail strikes depends largely on how long they last. He told MailOnline: ‘About 30 percent of containers coming into the UK leave ports via rail – so this can be very unusable and add extra cost, but we need a little extra back-up in our road network. have been found. Will help keep containers moving.
‘We’re looking at items like electronics, furniture, clothing, iPads, etc., not food and everyday items.’
Most goods are transported on container ships around the world. During the pandemic, trade flows were disrupted dramatically due to the closure of ports due to the lockdown, with seafarers, warehouse workers and lorry drivers going into isolation due to staff shortages.
Last year also saw major problems, with hundreds of ships unable to dock and unload their cargo due to a shortage of HGV drivers in the UK, USA and Europe.
Meanwhile, huge piles of empty containers appeared in farms near the UK’s major container ports, as a lack of lorry drivers with global shipping firms unable to fulfill their orders.
Mr Ballantyne said he did not expect the situation to become serious in the coming weeks, but warned there could still be short-term pain.
“I would not say that we are looking at the same situation as it was during the height of the pandemic when you were moving into both the East and the West or coming out of various lockdowns,” he said.
‘But it could be an unhelpful blip and with the National Rail strikes it could cause some short-term headaches for the logistics industry.’
DP World, which operates the Southampton Container Port and London Gateway on the Thames Estuary, declined to comment.