As the Beijing Olympic Games draw closer, the local Beijing government are starting to let us know what steps they are taking to improve the air quality and reduce traffic on the streets of Beijing. As news reaches us, we will provide you with regular updates on what we know and how this is expected to impact your customers, both coming in and going out.

When are the Olympics Games? August 8th – 24th and they are immediately followed by the Paralympic Games September 6th – 17th. So the restrictions don’t end after the Olympic Games…

Allow me to first explain that Beijing has six Ring Roads that circle the city, a city of some 16+ million people, depending on where you draw the boundary. We are approximately 4-5 hours drive (for commercial vehicles) and some 250 kms (150 miles) from the coast and the port city of Tianjin, a city that has a population of some 12 million people with its own international airport (Xingang is the name of the seaport which services both Tianjin and Beijing).

On July 1st, trucks registered to all cities outside of Beijing (which includes Tianjin) will be restricted from entering into Beijing, period. Beijing trucks have a labeling system where older trucks have a yellow label on the windscreen and more recently built trucks that comply with European emission standards, have a green label. As of July 1st, only green labeled trucks will be allowed on the roads of Beijing. Restrictions are now being put in place for registering new trucks. Consequently there will be a shortage of transport.

Then from July 28th there will be a restriction on all cars and trucks on the roads of Beijing. The last digit of their number plate and the date will determine who can be on the road. So for example, on Monday July 28th, only vehicles whose last digit is an even number will be permitted on the roads and then on Tuesday 29th, only vehicles whose last digit is an odd number will be permitted on the road. Consequently, 50% of all vehicles will be off the road at any one time. The exception being public transport and official vehicles.

We expect that all tractor/trailers carrying 20’ and 40’ containers will be restricted from coming into the inner ring roads of Beijing and consequently every large consignment will have to be shuttle delivered.

We also expect delays with goods being carried from the port of Xingang to Beijing with China Customs talking about the possibility of opening a temporary bonded warehouse outside the city limits for the shipments to be delivered into for final customs clearance.

There will be added restrictions to access the inner 4th Ring Road for all commercial vehicles no matter what size. This is basically the CBD where most apartments are found and the diplomatic area of Sanlitun is. The residential complexes of Shunyi are outside the 4th and inside the 6th Ring Roads. Additional permits will be required with time limitations for this area, which may require night time deliveries.

Bottom line is that there will be additional charges on all FCL traffic for shuttle fee; there will be additional bonded storage charges from the port and container demurrage fees. Very few shipments will be unaffected coming by sea. So it will be important that you pre-alert clients whose goods will be arriving after July 1st by sea to expect added costs and charges which we will pass on. Please let us know on each shipment as to whether these charges are to be billed locally or send back to the origin/booking office.

Air shipments coming into Beijing may incur some clearance delays due to heightened security with added airport bonded storage charges.

So please bear with us as we work through these difficult times and the ensuing delays that will be beyond our control.