Container Freight rates to increase on more China lockdowns

28 Mar 2022 CW Team

The number of container ships waiting off Qingdao port continues to rise as the country doubles down on its Covid Zero policy, adding more delays to an already strained global supply chain.The increased delays across China are expected to increase freight rates.

According to data, nearly 72 vessels were spotted off Qingdao port in Shandong, which almost doubled at the end of February. The increased delays across China are expected to increase freight rates.

This year, the volumes of container ships are being exacerbated by lockdowns aiming to curb new coronavirus outbreaks.

Salmon Aidan Lee, head of Wood Mackenzie, told the media that the Covid-19 pandemic situation has worsened in the past few days at Qingdao. He expects freight rates to increase because of increasing delays.

There is also a growing backlog of containers off Shanghai Ningbo and Zhoushan ports. There were 262 ships, up from 243 a week ago. However, the situation in Shenzhen and Hong Kong has eased a bit, down to 162 vessels.

The rapid spread of the pandemic had already strained supply chains reeling from the Russia-Ukraine war. Shipping lines like AP Moller-Maersk have cancelled their services to Russia and halted some rail shipments from China into Europe.

China has locked down Shenzhen and the northeast province of Jilin to control the pandemic, threatening technology and auto manufacturing output. The Yantian container port operations are continuing normally.

China's zero-tolerance policy has led to several partial closures of ports over the past year, exacerbating concerns about disruptions to supply chains and increase in production costs. The surging price of global oil and gas due to the Russian-Ukraine are increasing inflation risks in China as factory costs remain high.

Image Source

Also read: Mangalore port's container terminal to begin operations by March-end

Infrastructure Transport

01 Jun 2026

MMRDA advances 250 m on Orange Gate–Marine Drive tunnel

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has completed 250 m of underground tunnelling for the Orange Gate–Marine Drive Urban Road Tunnel using India’s largest slurry shield tunnel boring machine (TBM) deployed for an urban road project.The project involves twin tunnels extending over 7 km beneath critical transport corridors, including Central Railway, Western Railway and Metro Line 3. The work requires high-precision engineering to navigate densely developed urban infrastructure.Once completed, the tunnel is expected to reduce travel time between Orange Gate and Marin..

Hindustan Zinc Pays Rs 188.46 Billion in FY26

Hindustan Zinc contributed Rs 188.46 billion to the public exchequer in FY 2025-26, according to its 9th Tax Transparency Report. The contribution, equivalent to 46 per cent of the company’s revenue, included direct and indirect taxes, government royalties, dividends to the Government of India, withholding taxes and other statutory levies.The company’s five-year cumulative contribution to the exchequer stood at Rs 915.72 billion. In FY26, Hindustan Zinc reported revenue of Rs 408.44 billion, EBITDA of Rs 221.62 billion and profit after tax of Rs 138.32 billion. It also achieved its highest..

World of Concrete India 2026 Opens in Mumbai

Informa Markets in India will host the 12th edition of World of Concrete India 2026 from 3–5 June 2026 at the Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai. The specialised B2B exhibition will bring together manufacturers, suppliers, contractors, developers, architects, consultants, infrastructure companies, project leaders and government stakeholders.The event is expected to feature over 350 brands and more than 18,000 trade professionals. It will cover concrete and cement, dry mortar, precast technologies, formwork, construction chemicals, industrial and commercial flooring, scaffolding, safety solutio..