China

Surging COVID cases are forcing cities to lock down in China, including the major hub of Shanghai. The strict quarantine policy is not only impacting smaller businesses but also many large enterprises, including Tesla. The manufacturing production sector is being severely impacted by lockdown measures.

With the PMI at less than 50 for both the manufacturing and service sectors, analysts fear that the ongoing zero-COVID strategy could lead to China recording its lowest GDP growth for decades.

The world’s largest container port in Shanghai is remaining open during the city lockdown but is experiencing operational delays and backlogs in discharging vessels, thus worsening the global shipping bottleneck crisis.

China Customs is further refining the definitions and streamlining import procedures for recycled raw material across the three categories of Recycled Brass Raw Material, Recycled Copper Raw Material and Recycled Cast Aluminium Alloy Raw Material.

According to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, total first-quarter passenger vehicle production and sales volumes were up year on year - at 5.499 million and 5.545 million units, respectively. This is despite softer sales numbers in March which are believed to have been caused by the semiconductor shortage, lockdowns and raw material pricing. Supply chain delays and COVID-related manufacturing sector closures are impacting April production and sales figures.