As an importer, you are probably wondering how the COVID-19 epidemic in China is going to impact your business. Beijing says things are rapidly improving and hints that the situation will nearly be back to normal on the coasts by the end of February. They are still planning to hold the Canton fair. Let's all hope they are right. Let's hope there is no relapse (the epidemic starting again in certain cities) in the coming months. The situation is still far from clear. In the meantime, … [Read more...]
Coping With Coronavirus: How Importers Can Check If A China Factory Is Ready & Has Capacity
Importers are being hit severely by the Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia epidemic in China: Many factory workers (operators, inspectors, engineers...) are locked down in Hubei province Perhaps a higher number of factory workers are remaining in their home towns, hesitant to come back to work Local governments have extended the holiday, and then have imposed strict conditions for re-opening, which means many factories are not yet authorized to re-open One can expect a much … [Read more...]
Wuhan Epidemic: Why Major Supply Chain Disruptions Are Coming Up
In my last article on the topic of the epidemic that started in Wuhan, I mentioned there would be real effects on logistics and manufacturing. Today I can affirm some of these effects can already be observed. And it is definitely going to impact some importers' sourcing strategy. … [Read more...]
China Epidemic: Real Effects on Logistics and Manufacturing
The situation is pretty dark, with a new virus spreading like wildfire and governments resorting to extreme measures. Nobody believes Beijing's official numbers. I wrote about the alarming estimates of some Hong Kong experts a few days ago, and finally, the Western press started to report them, too, a couple of days later. The Economist is asking 'how bad will it get?'. This is in everyone's mind. We have gotten many emails from our clients asking the same question this past week. They … [Read more...]
Diverging Views on the China Virus Outbreak: Whom To Listen To?
Some medical experts in Hong Kong have devoted their careers to the study of micro microbiology and viruses, after the traumatic episode of SARS. These are the people I will tend to listen to, on this topic. For example, Yeung Kwok Yung and Gabriel Leung. And these Hong Kong specialists project the evolution of the infection in a way no Western newspaper (who mostly take the official government numbers at face value) dares to relate, it seems. … [Read more...]
What the Wuhan Virus Means for Importers of China Products
As this new coronavirus is spreading at an astonishing speed, it will probably have a much greater impact than what importers expect. … [Read more...]