Forwarders downplay impact of Zhengzhou lockdown

Several freight forwarders are not seeing an impact from the COVID-19-related lockdowns at Zhengzhou Airport (CGO) in Central China, thought to be a major gateway for the shipment of Apple products. Chinese authorities imposed the lockdown at the Zhengzhou Airport Zone, which comprises a vast industrial park, from Nov. 2 to Nov. 9. Restrictions were eased Wednesday but the measures did not apply to Foxconn’s iPhone plant, which remains under lockdown. The plant accounts for about half of the global production of iPhones, has more than 90 production lines and employs more than 300,000 workers, according to local reports. COVID-19 restrictions temporarily affected the primary iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max assembly facility located in Zhengzhou, Apple said in a Nov. 6 release. "The facility is currently operating at significantly reduced capacity,” the release stated. “As we have done throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we are prioritizing the health and safety of the workers in our supply chain.” No impact on cargo [caption id="attachment_69947" align="alignright" width="353"] Photo/CGO[/caption] Since the lockdown was issued, the Zhengzhou terminal has been working on a “Closed Loop Operation,” which requires staff to work and sleep at the terminal to meet the needs of normal service, Alan Ni, senior vice president Air Logistics Greater China, at Kuehne+Nagel, told Air Cargo World . “So far, there is very low volume from shippers at CGO,” Ni said. “Other than trucking delays within the airport zone area, of a maximum of two hours, we don’t see any impact on the operation of cargo flights. Traffic between several cargo terminals is also quite normal.” Dimerco also did not see its related cargo from the factory affected by the lockdown and all operations remain on schedule, a spokesperson told Air Cargo World . Meanwhile, Flexport reported that production out of the CGO is currently affected by the lockdown, leading to a decrease in expected volume, according to the company’s Nov. 8 freight market update. CGO is one of DSV’s charter network airports, a spokesperson told Air Cargo World . “So far, we have not seen or heard of any diversions [in flights],” the spokesperson said. “When Shanghai had lockdowns, it only affected parts of the airport and terminals. It might be the same for Zhengzhou.” DHL Global Forwarding has not experienced disruption in operations out of CGO, with cargo handling and processing “going smoothly,” a DHL spokesperson told Air Cargo World . CGO is a major origin and destination on Luxembourg-based carrier Cargolux’s flight network. The carrier was operating as many as 11 flights per week from its Luxembourg hub (LUX) to CGO, according to its summer 2022 schedule. Cargolux also flew from CGO to Chicago (ORD), Atlanta (ATL), Budapest (BUD), Milan (MXP) and London-Stansted (STN), according to the schedule. The plant in Zhengzhou is "making efforts to resume normal productivity as soon as possible," Foxconn chairman Liu Young-way said Thursday. Lockdown in Guangzhou Meanwhile, parts of Guangzhou, a major economic powerhouse and global manufacturing hub in southern China, have been placed under lockdown following a COVID outbreak. DHL Express’ operations at Guangzhou Airport (CAN) remain normal, according to the company. “DHL Express operates a direct cargo flight from Guangzhou to Cincinnati [CVG] in the U.S.,” the spokesperson said. “This year, we’ve launched a series of initiatives at the DHL Express Guangzhou gateway aiming to further improve operation efficiency to provide better service for cross-border e-commerce customers.” Since launching the CAN-CVG service in November 2021, DHL added seven flights per week between the airports, the spokesperson added. Join Air Cargo World for our next webinar, “Dangerous goods in focus: Shoring up air cargo logistics,” on Tuesday, Nov. 15, at 11 a.m. ET. Click here for more information and to register.

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