The government wants to restart production and shipping to meet global demand, but some people may trade a lockdown at home to being locked inside factories.
, a company that collates and analyzes shipping data, found in early April that one in five of the world’s container vessels were waiting outside congested ports, with nearly 30 percent of them awaiting entry to Chinese ports, from Shenzhen in the south to Beijing in the north.
Even with the government’s efforts, the global electronics industry may be particularly hurt by the situation in Shanghai. “In the most realistic of scenarios, complete normalization of manufacturing operations at key electronics suppliers will only be possible from late April or early May,” says Julie Gerdeman, CEO of Everstream.
“The Kunshan area [of Shanghai] has long been a stronghold for Taiwanese firms operating in China,” says, a professor at Harvard who tracks China’s manufacturing sector. Many electronics manufacturers, including Apple, HP, and Dell, may see shortages in the weeks ahead. And even if enough workers can be found for factories to get back to full manufacturing capacity, Covid may cause further disruptions. Factories will aim to keep workers inside facilities for long periods, with regular testing and careful hygiene measures, but it may prove impossible to prevent some outbreaks. “Who’s in the loop and who’s not?” says Shih. “Eventually—and probably sooner rather than later—you will need something that is out of the loop.
Restarting factories will also rely on people willing to experience yet more hardship by being locked inside factories and risking exposure to the virus. By law, workers are meant to be paid while their factories are furloughed, but this may not always be the case. “I hope things will get better, especially for the less privileged,” says Joyce. For many people in Shanghai, she says, “the only thing we know is, just stay at home.