SHANGHAI: Medium-sized ports around Shanghai, including those at Taicang and Zhangjiagang in Jiangsu province, saw a surging volume of transshipment to Shanghai in March, since many neighbouring cities adopted strict anti-Covid measures for truck drivers going to and coming from Shanghai due to the city’s lockdown, according to forwarders and Customs officials.

       Even though Shanghai International Port Group, the operator of Shanghai Port, announced last week that its daily throughput had remained around 140,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in March, getting containers into the city has become a challenge for truck drivers serving the city as many neighbouring cities restrict travel to and from Shanghai.

       These cities, especially in Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces, have been requiring truck drivers from Shanghai to have swab tests at expressway exits or even hunker down for 14-day quarantines in designated hotels.

       To resolve the shortage of truck drivers and prevent logistical delays, Taicang Port, facilitated by Nanjing Customs, has been helping export-oriented companies in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, ship containers to ports in Shanghai via waterway transshipment.

       This has effectively ensured the smooth transportation of exports for domestic manufacturers, said Wei Wei, head of logistics management at Taicang Customs, a branch of Nanjing Customs.

       The Taicang-Shanghai waterway transshipment service has transported a total of 59,000 TEUs, containing goods such as electronic products and auto parts, to Shanghai in March, soaring 68% on a yearly basis, according to Customs data.

       Once clearances for such international cargo are completed by Taicang Customs, they can be shipped along the waterway in between four and six hours to Yangshan Port, Waigaoqiao Port and Wusong Port in Shanghai, said Zou Wei, customer service manager at Taicang-based Suzhou Modern Terminal Co Ltd.

       Chen Yixin, head of the logistics department at VAG Water Systems (Taicang) Co Ltd, a valve manufacturer invested by Germany’s VAG Group, said costs of water transportation and truck delivery to Shanghai’s Yangshan Port were previously similar, but land transport was typically faster. — China Daily/ANN