Beijing traffic restrictions may hurt U.S. consumers
Traffic disruptions could affect a gamut of consumer products ranging from flat-panel televisions and other electronics to auto parts and other goods, said Bryan Scott Larkin, a marketing director at GXS, a Gaithersburg, Md., company that helps clients streamline their supply chains.
"You could see fewer products on the shelves and higher prices at Christmas because of the impact that this will have," Larkin said.
Larkin noted that security, transport and environmental measures affect parts of six nearby provinces, an area much larger than just greater Beijing.
Many foreign companies that are dependent on Beijing-area factories for components were caught by surprise at the traffic clampdown, he said, and some don't want to admit that they face disruptions.
"I can see companies not talking about it because they don't want to alarm anyone, especially with all the other problems in the (U.S.) economy," Larkin said.
The first bottlenecks began July 1, when authorities barred heavy polluting trucks from entering Beijing, allowing only trucks with cleaner-burning engines.
"During the next two months, big trucks can enter the city only from midnight until 6 in the morning," said Jiao Shufeng, a driver.
Jiao spoke near a checkpoint in Langfang, 25 miles southeast of the capital, where drivers lazed in the shade under their trucks, waiting to offload goods to other vehicles with special permits to circulate in Beijing.
Long lines of trucks formed at dozens of highway checkpoints around China's capital, leaving many drivers grumbling that they were unable to make deliveries.
"We are operating just for the most top-priority clients," said Cong Peichao, a 37-year-old sales manager, as he moved merchandise from one provincial truck to another approved to enter Beijing.
A series of staggered security and environmental measures are taking effect for a two-month period around the Aug. 8-24 Beijing Olympic Games and the Sept. 6-17 Paralympics. Officials hope that the measures will ensure the safety of spectators and athletes and clear the smoggy air that routinely cloaks the capital.
This week, police set up three concentric rings of checkpoints along all major roads leading into Beijing. At outer rings in surrounding Hebei province, officers with sniffer dogs and electronic scanners checked all vehicles, searching for hazardous materials and "dangerous" people allegedly seeking to disrupt the Olympic Games.
Recent comments
Oh it breaks my heart that Walmart won't be able to sell their...
zxcvbnm | July 18, 2008 at 8:43 a.m.
Beijing may boost security for the Olympic Games in China, with its...
Brother Chuck Schroeder | July 18, 2008 at 6:46 a.m.
I just wonder where is Al Gore, Robert Redford, and the other eccentric...
Single Faced | July 18, 2008 at 6:19 a.m.
