Supply Chain Strategies to Employ when Shipping out of China during the Coronavirus Outbreak

The logistics and transportation industries must march on, even as the coronavirus outbreak continues worldwide. The virus has caused significant supply chain disruptions and congestion, but there are methods you can employ to help combat these issues.

Listed below, you’ll find several strategies within trucking, air, and ocean transportation that can be utilized now to help move your goods out of China and to its final destination.

Shipping Strategies: Trucking

Truck transportation in China has been significantly impacted by the virus. The Chinese government has set many checkpoints on roads in order to check the temperature of drivers as they travel. This has caused road congestion and truck transportation timelines to be extended.

The shipping strategies to start using to work around this factor include:

Provide enough buffer time to adapt to ocean and air schedules. Freight schedules may change, such as for blank sailings, and it’s a good idea to allow a 2-3 days buffer in your supply chain process.

In China, trucking transportation should be considered for the first method of transportation, but consider other options as well.

Choose other transportation options as a backup. Barge or domestic railway are alternative transportation modes that can be used in place of trucking. Over the last few weeks, some shipments in China have moved from domestic trucking to barge or domestic railway. Barge transportation has been used by Tianjin and Shanghai, in particular, because there are several water connections.

Transit times for railway shipping are 20% lower when compared to trucking, but the cost is also 20% cheaper and it is a more reliable service.

Shipping Strategies: Air

With trucking and ocean transportation slowed, air transportation has been utilized more over the past several months. This has led to fully booked air flights and a backup of cargo to be moved.

Employ these methods to assist with air transportation:

Be open to more air carrier choices. Don’t expect much from passenger flights, and explore additional capacity out of China. Airports in coastal areas are more booked up, so look at using airports that are more inland. These airports are likely to have more capacity at this time.
Look at rail services or other transportation modes. If your cargo is not going overseas, consider rail or ground services if they are available.
Split shipments up so everything is not transported all at once. This means extra paperwork for you but it will be easier to move cargo if you split it into two or more shipments. Your cargo, or at least part of it, will be on its way to its destination.
Frequent communication! Communicating with manufacturers and R+L Global Logistics can remove hidden barriers.

In some cases, you need your shipment sent out right away. The best way to ensure your cargo is loaded and transported by air as soon as possible requires communication. You must communicate with our international freight experts in advance, tell them exactly what is needed, give commodity size, and supply details about the cargo. Air freight has less capacity than ocean freight, so the size of the cargo will have a big impact.

Shipping Strategies: Ocean

Ocean shipments are relied on heavily for international shipments. It is less essential when transporting from China to Europe or India, as they are a connected landmass. However, shipments to the U.S. or South America require either ocean or air shipments.

Shipping strategies to assist with ocean transportation are as follows:

Try to book LCL service instead of FCL. If you originally planned a full container load, but there are constraints in your suppliers or shippers warehouse capacity, meaning their space is not sufficient to store more cargo, don’t ask them to accumulate more cargo or freight in order to get a full container load based on your production level. Instead, consider using less than container options to speed up your origin transit time.
Forecasting/Prioritization/Communication. Communicate with your account executive and ensure that forecasts are being sent constantly. The ongoing viral outbreak is a very fluid situation and things change constantly. Prioritize your cargo and make sure relevant information is known to us. Strive for frequent and close communication to guide the process.

When shipping from China to Europe:

Look at using rail alternatives. Although not ideal, this method may be a better option than waiting for space on an ocean shipment or air shipment.
Consider Sea/Air mode. This is beneficial for semi-urgent shipments. You can use sea transportation into a specific air hub, and if necessary, use trucking transportation to carry your cargo the rest of the way. For example, Singapore and Dubai have been less impacted by the coronavirus, so they may be air hubs to consider.

When shipping from China to the United States:

Use a transload solution. The U.S. is a big market and a lot of cargo moves inland. One way to expedite your ocean shipment is to use a transload solution, from ocean to domestic truck. This allows your cargo to reach destinations further inland much faster and potentially avoid congestion in the U.S.
Be ready for when the market picks up. When the market picks up, the U.S. infrastructure will be put under stress, so consider tracking capacity, port congestion, rail capacity and working closely with R+L Global Logistics. Work with us to know the expectations for the delivery date, understand how your account executive intends to deliver on their promises, and what their solutions are to possible issues that may occur.

In general, you may want to consider working with R+L Global Logistics throughout the coronavirus epidemic. Working with us gives you wider access to carrier options, whether that is by truck, air, or ocean shipments.

Shipping with R+L Global Logistics

When it comes time to transport goods within your supply chain, R+L Global Logistics can assist you at any stage of the process. We provide both domestic and international services and utilize our strategic network of commercial partners to help you throughout your supply chain flow. Our domestic and international services include:

Truckload
Mexico/Canada Transborder
Intermodal
High Value/High Risk
Customs Brokerage
Import/Export
Ocean/Air Freight
Warehousing

Our team of logistics professionals works diligently to assist with any delays caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) and communicate with you quickly and effectively to minimize the impact on your operations. Our goal is to satisfy the customer at every turn. Chat with one of our experienced customer service representatives today to get the help you need now.