Impact of port disruption on supply chain

Abstract

Port being an important node in global supply chain, it is crucial in facilitating international trade. While disruption happened at port will result in severe negative impacts on supply chain parties, there are little studies done to assess the risk and impact, especially the case in China. This report serves to bridge the gap. This report makes use of both primary materials from surveys done by various supply chain parties, and secondary data from literatures, database, and reports from government authorities to evaluate and quantify risks of disruptive events, particularly the risk of tropical cyclones (TC) at ports in China. In addition, author has identified the pattern and trend on the frequency, intensity, place and time of occurrence of TCs in China for long-term planning purpose. Impact of port disruptions on supply chain is provided in the later portion in the report. Author argues that the practice of Just-in-time in current global supply chain management has exposed international product flows to a greater risk in case of disruptions. After that, impact on supply chains in China as well as the spillover impact to overseas companies is discussed. Lastly, some suggestions on mitigation strategies are provided.