The carriers are monitoring the impact the coronavirus could have on containers moving from China to the US. They have refrained from cancelling sailings so far, but the situation is very fluid. To help contain the coronavirus, the Chinese government extended the Chinese New Year holiday for most of the country by 3 days. Factories located in areas hardest hit by the coronavirus will remain closed for an additional week. If there is no production, it seems likely that the carriers will have no choice but to start cancelling sailings.
The impact of the coronavirus on the shipping industry so far has been manageable. However, if the coronavirus becomes a long-term issue, both carriers and shippers will be faced with many difficult challenges. No one knows for certain what these challenges might be and how they could impact your supply chain.
Outside of canceling sailings, major carriers are reporting that their China operations have not been impacted by the coronavirus. This could change if the coronavirus starts to spread to major gateways in China. If carrier operations in key ports become impacted due to the coronavirus, supply chain disruptions for shippers will be inevitable. For now, shippers can only monitor the situation with the rest of the world and react accordingly as the coronavirus unfolds.
