Although economists say that the shipping problem has not hindered the steady recovery of China's economy, the shipping capacity poses a challenge to China to maintain export growth under the difficulties it faces. China's official Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' index (PMI) shows that although China's manufacturing industry was still expanding in December, the growth of Suzhou international shipping rate slowed down. The sub index of new export orders decreased slightly to 51.3% compared with November.

sea freight 

In the past six months, the RMB has appreciated more than 8% against the US dollar. Since most trade is settled in US dollars, the appreciation of RMB is also eroding the profit margins of Chinese enterprises. The director of macro and strategic research of a Chinese securities company said that the high shipping cost will always be the biggest headache for most Chinese exporters before the Spring Festival; And this will cause cash flow tension for some smaller exporters, especially those engaged in low profit commodity transactions. He added that some companies were no longer willing to expand production capacity and were cautious about accepting new orders. Mr. Chen, a toy exporter in the southern Chinese city of Shantou, said that many of his customers in the United States and Europe told him to stop delivery because high logistics costs eroded their profit margins“ It's very frustrating, "he added, adding that he no longer accepts new orders from customers in recent weeks because he can't guarantee when he can deliver.

In order to maintain the pace of economic recovery, China has also taken some measures to solve the shipping problems faced by exports. In early December, China's Ministry of Commerce proposed to increase container production to alleviate the supply shortage, and monitor the shipping market more closely to stabilize costs.

But solving the problem is not easy. More than 95% of containers are built in China. CIMC, the world's largest container manufacturer, told investors in November that its bookings had been arranged to the end of March. Mass production of containers may lead to excess supply in the future, but some people say that this is the only feasible option to alleviate the shortage of supply at present. Charles, the commercial director of seastar shipping company, which operates dry bulk carriers, said: "if you do this, you're finished. If you don't, you're finished. The real solution to all this is to deal with the epidemic and the global logistics system ".