There is no doubt we are in unprecedented times. We will explore over the coming weeks the impact COVID19 has on your supply chain. In this first publication we ask what impact this has had on goods being imported from China.
According to Forbes exports from China are down 17% for January and February in 2020 versus 2019. This comes after a two year trade war leading up to this point where the US has been trying to balance the huge delta in exports to China versus imports from there.
After closing for a period of time to reduce the spread of COVID-19, Chinese factories that were set to open in February finally were able to make that happen in early to mid March. Although that’s a win to get things on track to be back to normal at some point, there’s a long way to go. With Financial Post reporting decreases in volume like 85% to Vancouver and 40% down to India this will undoubtedly hurt the Chinese economy (among others) for years to come.