Logistics in China have gradually started moving again and the country aims to tackle bottlenecks and support economic development amid the latest Covid-19 outbreaks. The Ministry of Transport resolved a number of problems such as reopening toll booths and service areas on expressways, and blocked roads hindering the transportation of supplies to rural areas, Li Huaqiang, Deputy Director of the Ministry’s Transport Department, said at an online news conference. Among the 33 measures the government announced to stabilize growth were steps to cancel traffic restrictions for people from low-risk areas, and to provide free nucleic acid tests to passenger and freight transport drivers. Compared with April 18, truck traffic on expressways was 10.9% higher on May 24. Freight volume on railways and roads increased by 9.2% and 12.6% respectively, both recovering to about 90% of their normal level. China’s postal and parcel delivery sector is now handling as much business as during the same period last year.
China’s major logistics and transport hubs have also gradually resumed operation. The daily throughput of containers at Shanghai Port has recovered to more than 95% of the normal level. Daily cargo traffic handled at Shanghai Pudong International Airport recovered to about 80% of the volume before the outbreak. Daily cargo throughput at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport has recovered to its normal level. A hotline has been established to answer truckers’ questions and to provide consultation if they encounter any problems on their journeys. Deputy Director Li noted that more than 1,900 reported issues regarding truck transportation were addressed via the hotline in the past month.
Jiangsu province has canceled all epidemic prevention restrictions for vehicles coming from low-risk areas. Drivers do not even have to present a negative nucleic acid test. According to the Jiangsu Transport Bureau, the daily number of vehicles on the province’s expressways increased from 200,000 to more than 1.2 million, and will soon increase to 1.8 million. “It just took me one minute to show the health code and travel code on my cellphone to those checking at the expressway exit,” said Li Zheng, a cable company employee who commutes between Nanjing and Changzhou. “It used to be a nightmare to spend hours queuing to exit the highway in lines that seemed endless when the epidemic prevention measures on traffic were strict,” he said. Vehicles coming from high- and medium-risk areas, including neighboring Shanghai, will still be checked before entering the province. More than 20,000 freight transport vehicles from Shanghai enter Jiangsu every day. Jiangsu will soon provide transportation companies with subsidies totaling CNY50 million to help them resume normal production, the China Daily reports.
