Coronavirus Impact on the Supply Chain

The cargo industry is faced with the impact of health and safety measures being taken to contain the coronavirus outbreak in China, which has spread to 21 countries at this time. The World Health Organization has declared an outbreak of a new coronavirus from Wuhan, China, to be a public health emergency of international concern.

The OEC/CGL Group has mobilized itself both in Asia and North America in an attempt to mitigate disruptions to your supply chain with the current environment of flight cancellations, vessel schedule changes and travel restrictions.

Our Group has established task forces in both North and South China to monitor the situation in each office location and take a proactive stance to the changes that are implemented affecting the cargo industry, as the rate of transmission increases. Employees in China are set up to work from home to address the restrictions caused by quarantine measures, along with our 24 hour access team to respond to urgent shipping issues. As we closely monitor the developments, our network has the flexibility to adapt to the imposed changes and continue daily operations required to handle all cargo requirements. Updated procedures will be issued and implemented to manage any changes and immediately communicated throughout the network.

All our China offices will open as scheduled, after the extended CNY holidays. In regions where the government imposed the holiday extension to February 9th, our China network will have a team available from February 3rd onwards, to respond to any cargo issues that arise. (Refer to office list below for opening dates).

Mainland China as a whole will maintain uninterrupted operational procedures throughout our network in regards to cargo handling, with the exception of the Wuhan area. We have established protocols to ensure our employees’ health and safety along with our cargo handling procedures to assure as little disruption in your supply chain as possible.
Our Group understands the importance of speed to market and therefore planning ahead is critical in getting your cargo to your door , meeting your deadlines. We therefore stress that you inform us as early as possible on your cargo timeline requirements so we can work cohesively with your logistics team.

Health concerns and government advisories have prompted multiple airlines to temporarily discontinue service to China which will no doubt affect cargo movement globally.The actual effect of these temporary suspensions will not be fully known until the factories resume.

We will keep you informed of all developments and issues that may affect your supply chain. For customer specific queries, please contact your OEC/CGL customer care representative who can assist in providing you with the latest available developments, or by email at our CV Information designated addresses:

Montreal : CVinfoYUL@oecgroup.ca
Toronto : CVinfoYYZ@oecgroup.ca

Vancouver : CVinfoYVR@oecgroup.ca

Ottawa : CVinfoYOW@oecgroup.ca