Decathlon sports store. Villeneuve d’Ascq. – IAFRATE PATRICK / SIPA
The only freight train between France and China is at a standstill. Since mid-February, weekly train convoys from Wuhan, China, to Dourges, Pas-de-Calais, have not arrived at the station. The cause: the coronavirus.
To make matters worse, the city of Wuhan, the cradle of the disease, was quarantined on January 23. However, French groups such as Danone and Décathlon are supplied mainly by the Wuhan-Dourges line.
In addition, the train has not been running since December. “There are two reasons for this: the strike period in France and the normal slowdown in activity in China in connection with the Chinese New Year,” said Decathlon.
French companies threatened with stock-out?
“Decathlon with its warehouses right next to it, it risks running out of supplies and having empty shelves,” said Xavier Wanderpepen, head of rail freight between China and Europe at Forwardis, a subsidiary of SNCF Logistics. He spoke at a round table devoted to the export of French agrifood products to China, as part of the agriculture fair in Paris.
Freight train traffic will not resume until April, however, Decathlon said it has “nothing to report” regarding possible stock-outs. “Since February 19, the brand has continued to transport its products from China by public freight trains with Chengdu as its departure station. The products arrive in Germany and are then distributed by road to the other countries of Europe Says the company.
If the epidemic spreads to Chengdu station, Decathlon says it is already “thinking about a plan B” without giving more details.
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