Coronavirus and shipping

I heard from one of my sources in China that even though production will restart soon or factories that had already restarted, there’s talk of shutting down logistics to contain the Coronavirus. Could you all please share what you’ve heard from your suppliers or freight forwarders in China.

Answer: I have just placed an order with my supplier who is quoting 25 days for production (it’s usually 1/3 of that). Factories in China can apply to the government for special permission to get back to work sooner and provided they can display the right measures to protect their staff from infection then the government will allow them back. I’m not sure about the situation at the port but I’ve not heard of things stopping. My forwarder doesn’t seem concerned either.

Only 1 of 3 of my manufacturers back and they are suggesting an order could be ready in 3 weeks and shipped straight away. But their production staff not back in yet – hoping for next week.