The Shanghai lockdown is delaying shipping schedules in South China and bringing down spot rates.

And now Guangzhou has become the latest port city to undergo mass Covid-testing, a frequent precursor to tough restrictions under China’s zero-Covid policy.

City-wide testing began on Saturday evening, along with travel restrictions on who can leave and enter the city.

A contact at the port of Nansha said its container terminals were operating normally, but truck drivers in the area had to show a 48-hour negative PCR test, which had caused “some issues in the Pearl River Delta”.