Asia/Pacific News
'No Material Impact Yet' on Blank Sailings From Shanghai Lockdown: Report
No material impact on blank sailings can yet be observed from the recent COVID-19 lockdown in Shanghai, according to new analysis of container traffic in the region.
Excluding blank sailings caused by the Lunar New Year holidays, cancelled voyages from Asia to the west coast of North America have been falling in recent weeks, consultancy Sea-Intelligence said in an emailed research note on Thursday. The effect from the Shanghai lockdown has been different from that of the Yantian lockdown last year, after which blank sailings rose, according to the firm's analysis.
"The number of blank sailings in 2022 was coming down from a more elevated level, whereas in the Yantian case in 2021, blank sailings increased as a consequence of the Covid impact," the company said in the note.
"This also implies that even though the level of blank sailings right now basically matches the number seen in 2021 following the Yantian impact, it cannot be concluded that the impact on the market is the same.
"Quite the contrary, there has not yet been any material impact on blank sailings, beyond the normal state of affairs – to the degree than that market prior to the Shanghai lockdown can be called "normal".
"We used the same methodology for other trades as well. We saw no impact on Asia-North America East Coast compared to the Yantian impact, whereas on Asia-Europe, the impact of the Shanghai lockdowns is very similar to that of Yantian in 2021.
"That said, it should however be clearly noted that we could still be in an early phase of the Shanghai lockdown, and if the factory closings persist, it is highly likely that the number of blank sailings will begin to increase in the coming weeks."
