Tim Huxley (Tim Huxley), chief executive of Mandarin shipping company (Mandarin Shipping), told the media on Monday that the recent floods in China and Europe were "another heavy blow" to the global supply chain.
Since the beginning of this year, as parts of the world have recovered from the epidemic, shipping routes have become extremely busy and there is a shortage of containers, resulting in frequent delays in shipping routes and rising shipping costs. Not only that, global shipping has suffered many unexpected blows this year.
First, in April this year, the Changzhi, a container ship owned by the Eva Group, was stuck in the Suez Canal, disrupting this important traffic route for nearly a week. In June this year, an increase in the number of novel coronavirus cases in some parts of southern China led to more delays at ports in the region, pushing up shipping prices again. Recently, torrential rains and floods have occurred in Henan and parts of Western Europe, which may further deal a blow to the global shipping supply chain.
Floods disrupt railways or hit global supply chains
Flooding was particularly severe in Western Europe, particularly in Germany, Belgium and Switzerland, and parts of Switzerland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands were also affected.
"it really disrupts the supply chain because all rail traffic is cut off," Huxley said in an interview. "
He pointed out that the main railway traffic that was interrupted included railways from Czechoslovakia to the German ports of Rotterdam and Hamburg, which had been "seriously interrupted." "this will delay the flow of goods," he said. This will really wreak havoc on the industry as a whole. "
Citing German steel giant ThyssenKrupp (Thyssenkrupp) as an example, he pointed out that due to floods blocking traffic, the company was unable to obtain raw materials and its production capacity was limited. "this will have a knock-on effect on the automobile industry, household appliances and other industries."
According to reports, ThyssenKrupp has announced force majeure in a letter to customers on July 16. Force majeure refers to the occurrence of natural disasters in unforeseen circumstances, so that a party can not perform its contractual obligations, so as to waive its liquidated damages.
A source from the company's steel plant said that at present, some railways in Hagen are impassable, and it is more difficult than before to find trucks to deliver goods. Hagen is one of the worst-hit cities in western Germany.
At the same time, Huxley said, the recent floods in China's Henan Province caused railway disruptions, which will also have a "huge impact" on shipping.
"obviously, this will have an impact on shipping and force shipping rates to rise," he said. In addition, as Henan is China's "granary", the flood could have an impact on the global wheat and coal industries.
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