Several terminals in the ports of Shanghai and Ningbo have been shut down since Sunday as a precaution to Typhoon Chanthu, which arrived in China on Sunday evening. Ships and airplanes are diverted and train traffic in the region has been suspended. This will also have an impact on rail, which provides the land link to and from some of the terminals.

The new closures at the transhipment terminals is a setback for the two cargo ports, which were still busy making up for all the backlogs caused by the weeks-long closure of Ningbo in August, due to a corona infection.

Even before that, ocean freight was disrupted by the blockage of the Suez Canal, and the pandemic in general. Freight rates for sea shipping are currently skyhigh. Although this is a chance for rail freight to step in, the rates of containers are traditionally dictated by sea freight, and therefore impacting the entire supply chain.

Typhoon Chanthu

Before Chanthu reached the Philippines from the Pacific Ocean, the typhoon reached wind speeds of up to 260 kilometers per hour. Since then, the speed of winds has weakened to 170 kilometers per hour, making the threat relatively smaller.

Nevertheless, wind and the additional rain still resulted in damages in Shanghai and the nearby province of Zheijang. As a result, flights have been canceled, train and metro services have been suspended and offices and schools have closed.