"In just one week, the factory will have to stop production," said a Zhejiang textile owner, as 9 containers are stranded in the Gulf of Oman, with raw material and freight costs skyrocketing. "Originally a peak season, now orders have dropped to zero..."

"In another week, the factory will have to suspend production. Right now, there are no orders, and the finished goods cannot be shipped out, while both freight and raw material costs are skyrocketing." Yesterday, Wei Haoxing, who had just returned to China for two days and was still adjusting, rushed to Shanghai early in the morning to attend a textile expo, hoping to further expand the domestic market. Prior to this, he had been stranded in Dubai for over 20 days. Wei Haoxing is from Shaoxing and has been in the textile business for over 30 years. His company's products are mainly polyester woven fabrics, with over 90% sold abroad. As early as 24 years ago, Wei Haoxing established a company in the UAE, employing over 20 staff, primarily from Pakistan and India. His textile company in Keqiao has an annual sales revenue exceeding 10 million USD. "The reason for setting up a company in the UAE is that goods generally need to be shipped to Dubai first, and then sold to regions like the Middle East and Africa from there." In mid-February this year, after the last batch of nine containers destined for the UAE was shipped out before the New Year, Wei Haoxing also headed to Dubai to celebrate the New Year with his son and daughter-in-law, planning to return to arrange for the resumption of work after the holiday. However, with the U.S. and Israel launching military actions against Iran, all plans changed. Not only was Wei Haoxing stranded locally, but the cargo ship carrying the nine containers was also stuck in the Oman Gulf due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz on March 3. On March 8, Wei Haoxing finally returned to China, but by this time, the delivery of goods had already been delayed by nearly a week, and it was still uncertain when they would be delivered. "The cargo delay not only prevents delivery but also leads to skyrocketing costs. In addition to freight, the shipping company has added a war surcharge of 3,500 USD for each container, which amounts to 31,500 USD, while the total value of the goods is only 800,000 USD." Wei Haoxing is worried that if the delay continues, related costs are likely to keep rising, and other potential cost increases are currently unpredictable. In addition to the cargo delay, what makes Wei Haoxing even more anxious is that the first quarter is usually a peak season, accounting for 40% of the annual orders, but now, due to the conflict, orders have basically dropped to zero. "Purchasers are all waiting and dare not place orders. We are also very anxious; on one hand, there are no orders, and on the other hand, even if the orders from before the New Year are produced, they cannot be shipped out. Additionally, the prices of raw materials and freight have surged; the price of raw materials has risen from 7,200 yuan per ton to over 9,200 yuan per ton, an increase of over 2,000 yuan, and the freight for a 40HQ container has skyrocketed from 1,500 USD to 6,000 USD." Wei Haoxing said that the company is still operating normally, relying on raw materials purchased before the New Year to fulfill orders received before the New Year. It is expected to complete production around March 20. If the situation does not improve by then, the company will have to hit the pause button. "I dare not just wait like this. I am trying to explore the potential of the domestic market and accumulate domestic customers. Once the situation becomes clearer, and the Strait of Hormuz is reopened, and raw materials and freight return to rational levels, we will replan our overseas business," Wei Haoxing said. Chengshi Interactive · Urban Express reporter Dong Qi Correspondent Sheng Linjie Editor Pan Li Reviewer Zhang Qian Jin Lipeng Proofreader Wang Jianying