Prime Freight’s summary of a September 2022 report by CNN. Read the original for the full story.
On 1 September 2022 Chengdu, a city of 21 million in southwest China, went into a citywide lockdown after a few hundred Covid cases, as Beijing held to its zero-Covid policy ahead of a key Communist Party congress.
CNN reported that residents were confined to their homes apart from mass testing, with one person per household allowed out each day for groceries. All businesses except supermarkets, pharmacies and hospitals were closed, and restaurants were limited to takeaway. It was China’s largest citywide lockdown since Shanghai’s two-month shutdown ended in June, and it triggered panic buying because it was announced only hours ahead.
Other cities were tightening too: Shenzhen closed Huaqiangbei, the world’s biggest electronics market, and suspended some transit services; Dalian locked down its central districts; and Shijiazhuang and Xining imposed restrictions. CNN noted the economic toll of rolling lockdowns, including record youth unemployment, and that officials had given no timeline for easing the policy.
What it meant for shippers
Chengdu is a major inland manufacturing and rail-freight hub, so lockdowns there and in Shenzhen threatened factory output and the trucking and rail links to the coast. Shippers with suppliers in affected cities faced uncertain cargo-ready dates.
What happened next
The lockdown was extended more than once (CNN), and China dropped most zero-Covid rules in December 2022.