NEWS & BLOG
Views: 0 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2026-01-30 Origin: Site
A massive storm has recently hit the United States, bringing heavy snowfall, sleet, freezing rain, and extreme cold. The storm has also dealt a significant blow to the cross-border e-commerce industry, with Chinese sellers facing logistics delays and a sharp drop in orders.
To date, 30 states across the U.S. have declared a state of emergency, with more than 10,000 flights canceled. Airports in Philadelphia, Washington, Baltimore, North Carolina, New York, and New Jersey have all been affected, bringing social operations to a near standstill.
While air transport is paralyzed, road transportation is also under immense pressure. Freezing rain has caused icy roads, forcing speed restrictions or even closures on some interstate highways, drastically reducing the efficiency of long-haul trucking. Drivers are reluctant to take to the roads, leading to frequent cargo backlogs at transit hubs.
A major incident occurred first: a multi-car pileup involving hundreds of vehicles on Michigan’s I-196 highway, a key logistics artery for the Great Lakes region. Its closure directly cut off a critical cargo route, leaving countless packages stranded en route.
On January 21 local time, the USPS updated its service alert, issuing warnings for the U.S. Southwest, Southern Plains, Midwest, Ohio River Valley, and Southeast, noting that winter weather could disrupt mail and package processing, transportation, and delivery in these areas.
Many buyers simply abandoned their purchases due to the drastically extended delivery timelines, bringing online traffic conversion to a near halt.
More critically, Amazon’s own fulfillment centers have been severely impacted. Several core facilities, including the FTW1 (Dallas) and MDW2 (Chicago) centers, were forced to temporarily close due to the blizzard.
According to online reports, more than 70 FBA warehouses across the U.S. have suspended operations, causing widespread delays in inbound appointments and inventory stocking for sellers.
For many cross-border sellers, this winter storm has not only caused massive delivery delays but also delivered a direct hit to order volumes.
Based on feedback from sellers, categories such as home decor, leisure goods, and general apparel have seen a marked decline, with some experiencing a complete “sales cutoff.” One seller stated: “For non-essential items, orders have plummeted by 75%.”
“Orders are down by half in the past two days, and 30% lower than the same period last year.” “Warehouses are closed; this will probably last about a week.”
Yet even as many sellers lament falling sales, another group is quietly enjoying a surge. Categories including energy storage devices, emergency lighting, and heating equipment have seen remarkable order growth, with some sellers experiencing a short-term boom.
One seller shared backend data, noting that due to the U.S. blizzard, daily orders for one of their related products exceeded 2,000, a staggering 200% increase from the previous day—surpassing even peak Black Friday sales levels.
Google Trends data confirms this market shift: searches for “space heater” have risen sharply in recent days, with searches for “power outage heater” soaring by 1,600%, highlighting the intense demand for essential goods.
For all Amazon sellers, the current priority is to reduce anxiety, stay rational, and follow the principle of “watch more, act less”:
First, industry experts advise sellers not to blindly adjust ad bids or slash prices arbitrarily. They may appropriately reduce ad budgets without completely pausing campaigns, maintaining low-cost traffic monitoring.
