The pandemic has impacted different industries in various ways and the logistics industry has always been at the forefront. However, with COVID related rules and restrictions relaxing and borders reopening, the industry has slowly started to recover again.
According to the research analysis shared by the HKTDC, Hong Kong’s export index has risen to 30.9 points in the second quarter of 2022, a great recovery of 6.2 points when compared to the previous quarter. It is also relieving to know that COVID has become less of a concern for businesses with only 35.8% of the respondents listing it as their top concern for the coming months, 17.7% lower than first quarter of 2022.
Nonetheless, this does not mean that the challenges brought by the pandemic has been alleviated - most respondents have listed rising transportation costs (72.6%), shutdowns and delays due to lockdowns in mainland China (68.7%), and disruptions to logistics / distribution arrangements (65.2%) are now their key concerns.
On the other hand, the Asia markets has been very promising in showing signs of recovery, with Japan, ASEAN, and mainland China being the best 3 performers.
Although Hong Kong’s export performance has been growing slower than expected, export confidence has improved. With the reopening of borders, Hong Kong’s exports rose by 31% to the US, 25% to Germany, 28% to Taiwan and 79% to India in the first quarter and are expected to display even greater recovery in the second half of the year.
As economies in China continues to resume, HKTDC Research is anticipating the mainland market to lead a strong rebound later in the year to further revive the logistics industry, despite the pandemic influence.
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