Half are operating at 80% or higher capacity, while the remaining range from 50 to 70%.
As a general rule, the factories further away from Wuhan, the coronavirus epicenter, are faring better. Factories in northeast and southern China are just about back online and contributing to the supply chain.
By Stanley Chao for Industry Week
photo: Getty Images
For the first time since the coronavirus pandemic broke out, China has reported no new cases transmitted locally. I’m also seeing better times for Chinese factories and the supply chain. This week my clients finally received shipments of lighting fixtures, gear boxes, tricycles, circuit boards and lawn mower engines.
In late February, President Xi Jingping made calls for people, factories and businesses to get back to work. “This is both a crisis and a big test for us,” said Xi. So, is the crisis over? Are Chinese employees back at work? Are factories running again?
“I think we are getting back to normal already,” said Kitty Han, a marketing manager for Cambi Environmental Technology Company in Beijing, a Norwegian-based waste management solutions provider and manufacturer. “The climate here turns warm now; we have 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit) today. We can see a bright future and no virus.”
Of the 80 or so factories I deal with in China, half are operating at 80% or higher capacity, while the remaining range from 50 to 70%. As a general rule, the factories further away from Wuhan, the coronavirus epicenter, are faring better. Factories in northeast and southern China are just about back online.
Huayi Lighting, based in Guangdong province, is one of China’s largest lighting fixture designers and manufacturers, supplying U.S. companies like Disney and Starbucks. They are seeing the tide change for the better. “We aren’t at 100% capacity yet, and have a seven-week backlog,” says Huayi product manager Sarah Qiu. “But I think we’ll all be caught up by mid-April. Things are looking better for the supply chain. I’m very happy to be back at work.”