Covid lockdown leaves Chinese ports critically congested

China’s biggest port in Shanghai is awash with containers full of frozen food as the city deals with a Covid lockdown and compulsory testing, which has left transporters unable to access the docks. China’s worst Covid outbreak in two years has led to “critically high” numbers of refrigerated containers and items classified as dangerous goods piled up at two storage yards in Shanghai, meaning some ships carrying those types of cargo may not be able to unload any more boxes at the port. 

The backlog is contributing to growing ship queues off the Chinese coast, threatening even more delays and higher freight rates in coming months.