About 70% of factories in Vietnam have shut down, and 90 US CEOs jointly requested the president to speed up vaccine assistance!

In recent days, the epidemic situation in Vietnam has intensified. As of 8 a.m. on August 25, Vietnam has accumulated more than 369,200 confirmed cases, and Ho Chi Minh City, the country’s largest city and economic and trade center, has become a "severely affected area . "

It is understood that from 00:00 on August 23 , Ho Chi Minh City implemented the most stringent "stay-at-home" prevention and control isolation measures since the outbreak of the epidemic , requiring the implementation of "martial law" throughout the city from August 23 to September 6 .

19 cities including Ho Chi Minh City were "blocked", which seriously threatened Vietnam 's economic production and supply chain . Clothing, footwear and hat processing is an important type of industry in Vietnam, especially Ho Chi Minh City, which has the largest shoe factory in Vietnam. The epidemic triggered a "martial law" in the whole city , affecting nearly 90% of the supply chain of Vietnam's textile and garment industry .

SEKO Logistics, a world-renowned third-party logistics service provider , said that less than 30% of factories in Vietnam maintain full production plans.

In recent years, production in many industries in the United States has shifted to Vietnam, including clothing, shoes, furniture, and machinery and equipment. The current severe epidemic in Vietnam poses a huge threat to the supply chain of many American goods.

It is reported that on August 20, 90 CEOs of many well-known American brands including Adidas, Nike, and Coach signed a joint letter petitioning US President Biden to speed up vaccine assistance to Vietnam . In order to minimize supply chain losses, they had to do so.

The current epidemic situation in Vietnam affects not only the upcoming school season and "Black Friday". If the epidemic is difficult to control and factories continue to shut down, the Christmas shopping festival and the supply of winter clothing may suffer huge impacts.

With the arrival of the peak season, transportation demand has increased significantly, and the recurrence of the epidemic has caused serious congestion in global shipping. The blockage of sea transportation has forced a surge in air transportation, but the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly reduced Vietnam's air cargo capacity. Freight logistics companies said that due to the surge in demand for charter flights, air freight rates are also rising rapidly.

In early August, the price of air freight was around US$4 per kilogram, but now it has more than doubled to US$8.5 or even US$10 per kilogram. The high air freight rates are expected to continue to rise , and the current "stay-at-home" isolation measures implemented due to the epidemic will continue to aggravate Vietnam's supply chain difficulties.

Vietnam Epidemic

Supply chain issues intensify

Air freight rates surge