What’s new: Highway traffic volume in China’s Yangtze River Delta — one of the country’s wealthiest regions — has plunged after local governments shut roads as part of efforts to contain a severe wave of Covid-19.
On Monday, Shanghai and the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui registered a 65% year-on-year plunge in their highway traffic volume and a 21% drop in truck volume, Wu Chungeng, head of the Ministry of Transport’s road bureau, said at a Tuesday press conference.
Overall, China’s highway traffic plummeted nearly 40% that day compared to a year ago. But “as more highway rest areas and toll gates resume operations, the traffic volume will gradually rebound,” added Wu.
Only about 1% of China’s highway toll stations were closed on Monday, compared to 6.3% on April 10, which “shows that the country’s major highways are being unblocked now,” said Wu.
A source from a freight transporter concurred, saying that the freight volume all over the country is increasing.
Background: On April 11, the State Council urged local governments to keep traffic moving smoothly and not to close highways or other major roads without due cause to ensure delivery of daily necessities and other essential supplies, as many local officials were closing highways to curb the spread of omicron variant while local residents rushed to stockpile food in the wake of food shortages in locked-down Shanghai.
Read more Cover Story: The Disrupted Lifelines of the Shanghai Outbreak
Contact reporter Manyun Zou (manyunzou@caixin.com) and editor Flynn Murphy (flynnmurphy@caixin.com)
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