The China Law Blog offers this great email from an on-the-ground observer:
Just received this email from co-blogger Steve Dickinson:
I do my martial arts workout three mornings a week at the
beach here in Qingdao. We have a great view of the entrance to the
Qingdao port complex. Vessels intending to use the port must "park" for
a while as they wait for a berth. For most of the summer, we would
regularly see no more than five or six vessels parked and waiting. This
Monday, I counted 23 vessels waiting for a berth. This means that the
port is entirely backed up and there is simply no room for the vessels.
This suggests that activity at the Qingdao port has suddenly increased,
leading to a delay in shipments. The Qingdao port is the second largest
container port in China. Its capacity is enormous and it is unusual for
the port to back up in this way. This suggests that shipments out of
China have suddenly increased in the past several weeks.
I'm thinking this might be normal seasonal fluctuation, gearing up for Christmas inventories. But it's good news even if just normal.