Coronavirus Quarantine Impact on Global Supply Chain

NPOs that source and import items from overseas should be aware that the coronavirus quarantines are significantly impacting the global supply chain in ways such as:

• Factories are being temporarily closed and those operating have limited staff. Couple this with the fact that we are in the middle of Chinese New Year where we typically expect factories to be shut down or on limited operations between Jan 25-Feb 15th.
• The transportation industry has slowed down as airlines and ocean carriers freeze operations in an effort not to spread the virus. Most major carriers have made statements saying that even in cities where ports remain open, customers should expect delays for the foreseeable future.

Keep in mind that Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak is an important manufacturing center that ranks 13th out of 2,000 cities in China that host factories. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus outbreak was a global health emergency just last week, so the impact to the supply chain is likely just the beginning. This is an extraordinary event and we’re keeping a close eye on the situation as it develops to mitigate the impact for our clients.

We are actively assessing the potential impacts to our clients’ programs, and identifying alternative solutions to consider throughout 2020. As always, we are here to talk through any of your questions or concerns, so reach out to us or connect with your account team anytime! We will continue to share information as it becomes available, so be sure to stay tuned!