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China’s road freight volume declines again as more than 20 provincial-level regions have been hit by a new wave of Covid-19 infections.
According to data from G7, a provider of IoT SaaS services for the trucking industry, China‘s national road freight traffic index hit 101.3 in the week of July 11- 17, a drop of 1.3% from the previous week, falling for the third consecutive week, and slumping 18.3% from the same period last year.
Earlier, in May and June, the index had improved significantly amid production resumption from the previous round of outbreaks, rising by more than 16% in May from the previous month and rising 4.4% on month in June, according to G7 data.
More than 20 provincial-level regions in China have reported locally transmitted COVID-19 cases in the latest wave of infections. Read more …
Last week, the Covid outbreak in Southwest China’s Sichuan province worsened, with several cities including Chengdu, Leshan, Meishan and Guangyuan taking a hit. On the same week, the province’s road freight traffic index declined by more than 6% from the previous week and down more than 15% from a year earlier, showed G7 data.
In contrast, in East China’s Anhui province, as the Covid outbreak eased last week and daily confirmed cases dropped to 36 from 234, its road freight index rose by 3.5% on week, according to the data.
In South China’s Hainan province, the road freight traffic index had tumbled in July 1 – 3 due to rainstorms, before quickly recovering in July 4 – 10. However, due to Covid-19 resurgence, the index declined again last week by 12.5% from the previous week.
In order to contain the latest round of outbreaks, local governments have stepped up entry inspections. For instance, in Chengdu city, capital of Southwest China’s Sichuan province, the local authority set up check points at its airports, railway stations, expressway entry points。
The index for cargo throughout at China’s large public logistics parks stood at 95.4 last week, falling 0.3% from the previous week, and slumping 23.4% from a year earlier, hitting a new low since June, showed G7 data.
The decline in the index was likely due to Covid resurgence in several regions, with the number of high-risk regions increasing, leading to suspension of delivery services in some regions, according to analysis by G7.
In addition to disruptions to road traffic, the new round of outbreaks has reduced cargo volume by upstream companies.
A manager at a logistic company that operate routes from East China’s Jiangsu province to North China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, said that the company still had new orders in April and May, the peak of the previous round of Covid outbreaks, though the company didn’t have enough capacity, with drivers stuck on road or quarantined at home, leaving fewer than 50% of staff available for work.
“But this time around, drivers are available, but many of our customers’ cargo volume is shrinking. Due to the falling cargo volume, we only keep 50% of staff at work,” he said.