China's Covid-19 measures are causing chokepoints in the country's ferrous supply chain, raising logistical costs for both traders and steel mills.
China's National Health Commission reported 51 new cases of Covid-19 on Monday August 16 - 38 imported cases and 13 locally transmitted ones.
Six of the locally transmitted cases were in Jiangsu province, while six were detected in Henan.
While the number of cases is falling, the restrictions put in place to prevent the spread of the highly transmissible "Delta" variant of the coronavirus have created numerous chokepoints for logistics.
Higher trucking costs
Domestic freight costs to transport coking coal and coke from Shanxi province to Hebei province in northern China have increased by about 50 yuan ($7.70) per tonne due to a shortage of trucks and drivers following the imposition of the restrictions.
"Drivers are not allowed to go on cross-province routes unless they can show that they are not sick or can produce negative Covid-19 test results," a coke producer source in Tangshan said on...