Well, as the improvement in China continues, albeit maybe short lived, the rest of the world is facing increases in COVID-19 cases which is translating to more "lockdowns" which in some countries is seeing retailers, distribution centres (DCs) and warehouses close down thereby causing backlogs of containers at cargo terminals, not to mention their inability to export.
With warehouses and DCs full and no sales through retail outlets we are now hearing that orders are being cancelled, which places Chinese manufacturers in another dilemma as they now have less orders to fill and due to the lack of shipments, shipping lines are invoking blank sailings again. This also has the downstream effect on countries like Australia who need the full containers coming in so the empties can be used for exports of our food and agricultural products amongst other goods.
Freight & Trade Alliance (FTA) are working with a range of government agencies as well as State and Federal governments to enable our industry to stay open and viable during these uncertain times.China - Update
Our sources from China have provided us with the following updates
- Imported or related COVID-19 cases are almost 1000, local non symptom cases are 1033 as at April 7,12:00 am. Chinese government is trying to control this second wave at this stage. However, Wuhan and Hubei province will be released from lockdown effective April,8.
- Chinese People Daily, April 7, confirmed that key ports, such as Shanghai, Qingdao, Tianjin(Xingang), Ningbo(Zhoushan) and Shenzhen, are back to 95% to 100% productivity compared to same period last year. Tianjin port has improved its frozen container storage capability.
- Many local Chinese news outlets confirm , April 5, that 30%-50% of orders have been cancelled. CCTV news indicated, Chinese Government is trying to help these companies and manufacturers, however, the final policy is yet to be released.
- Chinese news sources suggest that the 2M Alliance (Maersk & MSC) will suspend approx 20% of scheduled vessels on certain lanes, however there is an expectation that the market will rebound in the October - December period
- Sea-Intelligence Maritime Consulting, April 3, confirm that the reliability rate for the shipping lines dropped to 65.1% globally in February and is expected to be worse into the 2nd quarter.
- Maersk Line has offered container storage services in the following Chinese ports (Dalian, Tianjin, Qingdao, Shanghai, Ningbo, Xiamen and Yantian). Clients can store loaded containers at these ports in Maersk authorised depots. However this service does not cover Dangerous Goods or Frozen containers. MSC have also advised an SOT (Suspension of Transit) service globally, refer the above link for more information..
- Container advisory Sea Intelligence reported there have been 212 vessels cancelled globally as at April 6 and they are expecting the whole industry will lose over 23 billion in 2020. Lars Jensen, Chief Executive of Copenhagen based SeaIntelligence Consulting stated in an article in the The Wall Street Journal "The virus in China alone led to more than 120 blank sailings. The pandemic spread is likely to lead to substantially more blank sailings than this," and "If the 37% reduction is an indication of a global demand shortfall, this means all carriers are facing mortal risks."
General Updates - North America - the main ports are operating albeit with reduced hours / days as is dictated by vessel volumes. Priority is being given to "essential goods" in the main medical supplies. "Shipping lines have canceled 20 voyages to the Port of Oakland, one of the 10 busiest container seaports in the U.S., between February and April 2020, the port informed."
- New Zealand - New Zealand continues on its "level 4" lockdown however whilst essential goods are being moved to end consignees, non-essential cargo is currently being stored at transport company yards or alternate sites pending the "lockdown" period ceasing. One other issue is that some businesses are finding delays of 3-4 days when trying to obtain a slot to collect cargo at Auckland terminal. Thankfully a number of shipping lines have agreed to requests for relief of demurrage / detention
- South Africa - Lockdown March 27 till April 16 - strict controls in place, only allowed to leave home for medical care / food shopping / medicine etc - supply chains involved in providing essential goods to essential services
- Europe - not dissimilar to the USA, Ports operational in most countries but processing is slow. Italy most impacted as reduced working hours compounding the issue. Italy and Spain also have bans on non-essential operations so these, eg; factories, warehouses etc, are closed.
- United Kingdom - Lockdown March 23 and will be assessed in 3 weeks - all non essential shops close - supply chain still operating but a number of businesses are working from home which is impacting cargo delivery
Economic Update 
The Dow had opened the week full of confidence, surging more than 1600 points and followed this in early overnight trade with gains of a further 900 points. These gains have added nearly 25% to the Dow on coronavirus lows. Italy and Spain has seen falls in new cases and death rates have stabilised, while the New York hot spot appears to be cooling before any of the models predicted.
The RBA and RBNZ are in the private and public sector debt market calming the waters, as treasury debt issuance breaks records, while analysts see 'light at the end of the tunnel'.
- See the full update HERE
Please view a presentation a presentation by Collinson Forex on 30 January 2020 showcasing latest technology solutions – refer HERE
Shipping Update- Detention / Demurrage - Last week FTA wrote to the major Stevedores and Shipping Lines outlining our concerns should containers be held on the wharf or delayed in return to empty container parks due to COVID-19 related restrictions or lockdowns. To date replies have been received from VICT / OOCL / Maersk / Ocean Network Express (ONE) / CMA-CGM and whilst in most cases it was seen as too early to commit they all expressed a desire to work with their clients should government restrictions see container backlogs or delays.
- Service suspension
Container shipping companies Ocean Network Express (ONE), Maersk and MSC will suspend their jointly operated China Australia service (CAE) until at least the second quarter of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. - High Debt levels leave container lines exposed - credit to JOC.COM website
"Given the rapid and widening spread of the coronavirus outbreak and the deteriorating global economic outlook, there is a downside risk that the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of shipping companies globally could decline by 25 to 30 percent, similar to levels last seen in 2016 when Hanjin Shipping went bankrupt in one of the largest recent failures in the sector," Moody's said in a ratings update. - read the full article by Greg Knowler HERE
Airfreight update
The Government's plan to assist industry, particularly traders in the perishable goods and agriculture areas, is starting to take shape - the RFO has been released with a closing date of April 8 and the government has advised they expect decisions on who is appointed to manage the tasks to be finalised by April 10. FTA / APSA welcomes this support for our agriculture industry at this time especially on the back of the drought and recent bushfires.
You can also make use of the "COVID-19 Air Cargo Bulletin Board" where industry can communicate with each other to advise freight space availability or requirements. As a contribution to Australian trade and community, FTA will host this service as long as required on a free of charge basis available to all of industry.
Risk Management 
Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) & Insurance policy reviews - From James Cotis - Principal, at Logical Insurance Brokers
"Over the past couple of weeks, we have received phone calls & emails from logistics operators who are concerned about their revenues potentially reducing and are seeking guidance regarding how to go about reviewing their general insurance programs to determine what insurance they should let go and what they should retain.." – click HERE to see the full article from Logical Insurance Brokers
Business Operations
Statements from Senator the Hon. Michaelia Cash
* Weekly Wrap - includes commentary on Commercial Tenancies
* Assistance available to Small Businesses ( with state links )
* Supporting businesses to retain jobs - Jobkeeker payment
Austrade
As government, businesses and community align to step up the global fight against COVID -19, Austrade wish to provide some important updates - please read the commentary from Austrade on Support for Australian businesses HERE
Australian Border Force (ABF)
* Officer interaction - The ABF have now supplied industry with commentary in regards to interaction by ABF officers with industry participants - pls see here
* MAFTA CoOs
Members had raised concerns with claiming preferential duty rates during the COVID-19 impacts in Malaysia which is affecting paperwork required to meet the requirements. The ABF have provided the following commentary
"The preference for MAFTA CoOs is that they are stamped and signed.
The Malaysian authorities appear to be still issuing stamped and signed CoOs if the exporter follows the procedures in the attached document.
If the exporter is unable to follow these procedures the ABF will accept an un-stamped and signed MAFTA COO in order to claim the preferential rate of duty only if you are able to provide us, if requested, with a dump of the MITI system screen showing that the MAFTA COO was approved by MITI. The dating of the CoO must be within the period of the Malaysian Government shutdown.
This only covers CoOs issued under MAFTA, it does not cover AANZFTA."
WCO updates
* WCO and WTO join forces to minimize disruptions to cross-border trade in goods
* WCO - Temporary Import Supports and Export Restrictions lists by country
Coronavirus – Legal issues for the international trade sector 
Russell Wiese and David Thompson of Hunt & Hunt Lawyers recently delivered a webinar to in excess of 300 registered members on the supply chain - commercial and employment law issues arising due to the impact of the Coronavirus - a PDF copy of slides and access to the recording is available HERE.
Pandemic Response Camera/Robots driving business continuity.
Given the rapid spread of infection of COVID-19 across Australia and New Zealand, it is critical that organisations are equipped to prevent and control cross-infection in the work environment and public places where there are high flows of people. Partnering with a global artificial intelligence (AI) & humanoid robotics company and a global Tier 1 IT Services enterprise, we can rapidly deploy Pandemic Response Units (PRU) to assist organisations in reducing the potential risk in public high-flow areas such as freight & logistic depots, hospitals and clinics, as well as other essential services such as grocery stores, train stations, airports and citizen service agencies. read full article HERE
Workplace Relations 
Ed Mallett, Founder & Managing Director - Employsure, conducts a live stream each day on COVID-19 issues - see the facebook link HERE - to catch previous session click HERE
There are also links to a range of support material on their website
Please note the below links for up dated informationFURTHER INFORMATION
FTA suggest members / industry maintain close relations with their forwarders, agents, shipping lines, clients and suppliers / agents globally to ensure they have the latest information available. This is a time for review and planning not for panic.
FTA will continue to monitor issues surrounding the coronavirus and keep members updated as necessary.
WORKING TOWARDS A POSITIVE OUTCOME!
John Park - Head of Business Operations, FTA / APSA |
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