Allen Lu from AMR in Shanghai has advised that, after two months of almost complete lockdown, the key port of Shanghai in China is beginning to open up again.

Allen explained that on 31 May, 2022, the Shanghai government office announced major concessions that will allow people to leave their homes again: residents in low-risk areas can move freely; the gradual resuming of public commuting through the subway system; cars and trucks are allowed to operate in low-risk areas without a permit; and businesses can return to operation from 1 June.

At almost the same time the Shanghai customs announced measures to begin opening up operations.  In practical terms, this means that moves can begin to resume from low-risk areas.  However, Allen said there are significant hurdles yet to overcome. These include clearing the backlog from two months’ of lockdown. He expects this to take around a month so no additional work will be possible until July. Access to residential compounds for moving staff will be restricted and the strong involvement of the transferees will be necessary to negotiate the approval process.  Staff shortages are causing delays with container haulage, though as people return to work John expects this problem to ease.  He also expects freight charges to rise and for there to be delays as there will be a shortage of space on vessels as demand increases again.