In the UK we often bemoan the road traffic networks and what seem like interminable delays whenever you try and go anywhere. Holiday journeys, particularly on bank-holiday weekends, and trips around the M25 can bring to tears and emotionally “break” weaker mortals.

But, the odd few hours delay on the road networks in the UK are trivial compared to the 9 day traffic jams now being experienced in China along the Beijing-Tibet Expressway. This is an arterial road connecting coalmines to the ports on the eastern coastline.

China is incredibly an incredibly power hungry nation which is no surprise given their status as the world’s fastest-growing major economy. Their demand for coal to produce electricity to power their factories grows unabated with electricity consumption up a reported 22% in the first half of this year.

With a lack of suitable railway links from the primary coalfields the major trucking routes have now become almost impossible to travel on. The situation has been exacerbated by the closure of some mines on the grounds of safety putting even more pressure on a smaller number of coal producers all of whom truck their coal on the same Expressway!

Apparently the situation might get a little easier in 3-4 years when new rail lines are expected to come on stream but if you’re currently at the back of a 9-Day tailback I’m not sure how much comfort that is going to be to you!

Fortunately the factories that produce the branded USB flash drives are unaffected by the delays and problems this monster traffic jam is causing the Chinese economy albeit the USB factories, like many in China, do suffer the occasional power outage.

Twister USB Flash Drives

At the moment there are no reported delays to any orders for branded USB memory sticks but if you are considering buying branded USB flash drives its always better to plan ahead and allow yourself sufficient time to deal with most eventualities – in essence, if you can, build in a few extra days of fat into your timescales.

If you are up against it time wise then its worth remembering that some suppliers with offer a “rush” service for printed USB flash drives – this typically means they will supply you from their own plain (un-printed) stock and arrange for the printing to take place in the UK. This will ensure you get your flash drives in time but you’ll always pay a premium for this service.