The spreading lockdown on transportation in and out of China is fragmenting Asia’s expedited freight services. A steep reduction in passenger airline services over the coronavirus outbreak has pulled out a swath of trans-Pacific capacity for high-value airfreight. The WSJ Logistics Report’s Jennifer Smith writes that logistics companies fear the constraints could turn into bottlenecks as China’s production resumes following the extended Lunar New Year break. Some freight airlines have also reined back their flights, largely because of reduced demand as China’s economy has hit the brakes, and those operators should be able to restore services as demand picks up. That could trigger a race for space, however, and higher rates because many passenger airlines say it could be the end of March before their planes return. Risk monitor Resilience360 says more than 25,000 flights connected to China have been canceled because of the coronavirus.
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