SRF Radio interview with Prof. Wagner on impact of coronavirus on logistics
In its “Rendez-vous” broadcast program, Swiss Radio SRF discussed the impact of the coronavirus on the Swiss and European logistics industry and inbound and outbound supply chains. In an interview, Prof. Dr. Stephan Wagner helps to understand the current situation.
external pageSwiss Radio SRF “Rendez-vous” took the current coronavirus outbreak to investigate if and under which conditions supply chains feeding Swiss and European companies might be affected. Prof. Dr. Stephan M. Wagner explains that this question requires a differentiated answer. Surely, companies that are active with manufacturing, sales, or service organizations in Wuhan and China’s Hubei province will see a slow-down or shutdown, and hence, an impact on their business. Also, the majority of airfreight from and into China occurs via combination carriers. With Swiss, Lufthansa and other airlines reducing their (passenger) traffic into China, this airfreight capacity is taken out of the market, and will lead to shortages and rate increases. Since Switzerland is strong in valuables, and Swiss’ major customers are from such industries (watches, pharmaceuticals, medical devices), supply chains of products and trade with China will drop. Ocean freight, on the other hand, has longer lead times, and shipments from China that were released weeks ago will arrive. Overall, Wuhan is an important industrial area, but the impact will depend on the how many other cities will see a slow- or shutdown, and how long it takes to contain the virus.
DownloadListen to the radio broadcast (in German language) (MP3, 3.5 MB).