China to ban use of diesel truck to curb pollution during winter

In a latest effort to cut down air pollution during the winter, Chinese government has ordered ten thousands companies across 28 major cities in the country to halve the use of diesel truck by 1 November. In an alternative, domestic shipments shall be using railway.

Companies are scrambling to arrange freight by rail after the Circular passed. Experts are saying that such order might be problematic as many routes are not accessible by train and many factories are located in a great distance from any train station. This would increase the transportation costs for companies and parcels might take longer time to arrive.

Relating to the petrochemical industry, it is expected that buyers, especially in Northern China area, would have to speed up purchases and organise shipment before 1 November to avoid any production disruption due to the truck ban.