How Coronavirus is Affecting the Global Economyhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/05/coronavirus-global-economySupply chainAirbus has stopped its production line in Tianjin as travel restrictions imposed by Beijing take their toll.
The plant builds about six A320 aircrafts per month, so its closure will affect the manufacturer’s jet output. Other manufacturers to have halted production in China include
Toyota, General Motors and Volkswagen.
The impact on manufacturing output is not confined to China. The South Korean carmaker
Hyundai has halted production lines because of disruption to the supply chain of parts that usually flow between the two countries.
Honda has three plants in Wuhan, the city at the centre of the epidemic.
GSK, one of Britain’s largest drugmakers, said its medicine packaging facility in Tianjin, which employs about 100 people, remained closed after the extended lunar new year holiday. The company has 3,000 employees across China, many of whom are working from home.
Apple, which has suppliers in Wuhan, said the reopening of some suppliers’ factories had been postponed from the end of January to mid-February. Its chief Chinese supplier,
Foxconn, is reported to have halted almost all of its Chinese production.
Nike has closed about half its stores and is reducing hours in the remainder as shoppers desert the streets. China accounts for about 17% of its revenues in normal years.
Adidas said it has closed a “considerable” number of its outlets, while H&M said store closures in China – about 45 – hurt sales in January.
Gap and
Hugo Boss have closed stores or shortened hours.
Disney has said operating income will be cut by $175m (£134m) after it was forced to close two theme parks that are usually busy over the new year period.
Ikea has closed all of its 30 stores in China, while
McDonalds shut about 300 restaurants, 10% of its network in the country, and
Starbucks has shut about half of its 4,100 cafes.
Tata Motors, is warning of a group-wide impact. According to JLR’s latest annual report, 17% of sales – nearly 100,000 vehicles – come from China.
Royal Caribbean has called off eight trips to China and stopped any passengers who have travelled through, from or to China or Hong Kong in the past 15 days from boarding. It said the restrictions would cost it $50m of revenue.
Cathay Pacific has cut flights to the country by 90%.
The Hong Kong-based airline has asked 27,000 staff to take three weeks of unpaid leave to help see it through the crisis.
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Production Halts at China Factories Lead to Worldwide Shortages in Car Partshttps://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3049118/coronavirus-outbreak-adds-salt-wounded-global-car-industrySouth Korea’s Hyundai Motor became the first global carmaker to halt production outside China because of component shortages caused by stop-works and lockdowns to combat the coronavirus
General Motors, Volkswagen, Toyota Motor are among companies that have closed their China plants at least through February 9
Wuhan, the capital of Hubei, is one of the top auto-industry hubs in China, together with Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chanchun, where global manufacturers make both cars and components together with partners.
Hundreds of suppliers have factories in Hubei, including more than half of the Top 20 global parts makers, with Robert Bosch, Valeo and ZF Friedrichshafen among those producing components there, according to China Automotive Technology & Research Centre.
“Wuhan is the most cost competitive among China’s car-industry hubs, therefore many parts makers produce components there and supply their clients around the world.”
Tesla is among companies saying they’re monitoring potential supply-chain interruptions for cars built outside China as well.The outbreak may reduce vehicle output by more than 1.7 million cars because of plant closings, according to IHS Markit.
Dongfeng Motor Corporation, which is based in Wuhan and is one of China’s biggest carmakers, said its factories remained shut and would only reopen depending “on the prevention and control of the epidemic”.
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Coronavirus Weakens China’s Demand for Air Cargo Despite Drastic Freight Capacity Cuts on Passenger Planeshttps://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3049114/coronavirus-weakens-chinas-demand-air-cargo-despite-drasticAviation data firm OAG said there would be more than 25,000 fewer flights operated to, from and within China this week compared with two weeks ago, with 30 airlines halting services.
About half of the air cargo carried globally is on passenger jets rather than in dedicated freighters, and the flight cuts have made the Chinese market more dependent on freight haulers.
...“If you’re ordering people to stay in their houses it’s difficult to keep factories running,” Bernstein analyst Daniel Roeska said. “Many supply chains are essentially halted, so there’s nothing to transport.”Air cargo represents less than 1 per cent of global trade by tonnage, but that amounts to around US$6 trillion worth of goods every year – more than 35 per cent of global trade by value, according to data from Boeing, the biggest manufacturer of freighters.China’s aviation fuel sales were down a quarter during the last week of January as domestic and international flights fell sharply amid the spread of the coronavirus, a senior oil industry source with direct knowledge of the matter said.
Aviation fuel sales between January 24 and 31 fell nearly 25 per cent from a year earlier to 555,000 tonnes, the source said on Wednesday.
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In Alibaba's Hometown, a Grim Message: 'Don't Go Out'https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-02-alibaba-hometown-grim-message-dont.htmlA loudspeaker broadcast ominous instructions across the deserted streets of Hangzhou, the eastern Chinese city that is home to e-commerce giant Alibaba: "Please don't go out, don't go out, don't go out!"
Hangzhou is famous for being where tech tycoon Jack Ma founded his online shopping business in an apartment two decades ago, a one hour journey on a bullet train from Shanghai.
But as large parts of China come to a standstill in a bid to end the spread of the deadly novel coronavirus, green fences and "no entry" signs blocked streets near the headquarters of one of the world's most valuable companies.
Alibaba's headquarters are inside one of three Hangzhou districts where some three million people were told this week that only one person per household would be allowed outside every two days, to buy necessities.
... Nobody was seen coming in or out, and a security guard told AFP that the company's parks across the country were closed.
Several roads in closed-off Yuhang district were sealed and manned by security personnel.
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Hong Kong Retail Sector Takes a Battering as Sales Plunge 11.1%; Bank, Telecoms Company and Fashion Boutique Take Hithttps://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3048922/hong-kong-retail-sector-takes-battering-saleshttps://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3049232/coronavirus-fears-spread-hong-kong-employees-bankCity sees sharpest decline in more than 20 years against backdrop of trade war and civil unrest
More uncertainty lies ahead with coronavirus claiming its first victim in the city
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Coronavirus Bites Into Business On China’s Lockdown Fringehttps://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3049127/coronavirus-bites-business-chinas-lockdown-fringeFarmers and firms face grim prospects as crops go to waste and people stay home
... Li, 38, has 23 greenhouses covering about 6,000 square metres (1.5 acres), but his sales have plummeted, with customers staying at home to avoid contagion. Many of his now ripe strawberries might have to be thrown away, he said.
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Coronavirus: Cathay Pacific Asks All 27,000 Employees to Take Turns on Three Weeks Unpaid Leavehttps://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/transport/article/3049132/coronavirus-cathay-pacific-asks-all-27000-employees-takeCathay Pacific is asking all of its 27,000 employees to take three weeks of unpaid leave over the coming months, the company’s CEO told staff on Wednesday, as Hong Kong’s flagship carrier reels from the impact of the deadly coronavirus on air travel.
... On Tuesday, the airline unveiled massive cuts to flying schedules – 30 per cent worldwide for two months, including a 90 per cent cut in capacity to mainland China.
... Given the size of the capacity cuts reported, though, I’m not sure voluntary unpaid leave will be enough very soon.”