Karlibow News
Household Good Shipping Update
May 29, 2025
With the tariff pause in place between the US and China, goods have begun to flow again, although it will take time for transit times to return to a new normal. There is a freight backlog to deal with, as well as a rush of goods that will be shipped within this three-month window. Consider retailers preparing for the holiday season.
As of Friday, rates from the Far East to North America have increased by 10 to 20% since May 12th due to additional demand. While high, it is better than some predicted.
In the EU, port congestion has become a more significant problem, causing delays of up to a week, with some anticipating that it will worsen. This is due to the reduced water levels for the Rhine River and increased volumes.
Record-breaking rains are impacting Mumbai in India. PM Relo reported that “heavy rainfall, resulting in waterlogging, traffic disruptions, and congestion at key transport hubs, including the port,” is taking place.
Where is the good news, you ask? Ships are slowly resuming passage through the Suez Canal. The Suez Canal Authority is temporarily offering a 15% rebate for ships that pass through. Any guesses on what the average transit fee is? Make your way through the rest of this, and I will let you know.
Workers at Mexico’s largest container ports returned to work, ending a week-long strike. The Port of Manzanillo is a vital gateway for goods entering Mexico through the Pacific Ocean.
Capacity remains average as we head into June, with Hawaii being one of the most challenging markets to service currently.
We are monitoring the situation with the Department of Defense moves. There are positive changes that should lead to an increase in moves this summer, which may impact the household goods supply chain. The majority of our partners are not heavily involved with this work, but I am sure we will feel some of the effects.
Along with utilizing Karlibow, the best way to ensure a fantastic move experience is to initiate the move as soon as possible. This will lead to a much better experience for the transferee 100% of the time.
Once again, thank you for reading. As always, your feedback and news are greatly appreciated!
Past News Articles
One of the things that I love about this business is that you are always learning new things. If you have never heard of “tariff washing,” you are not alone.
After a smooth Q1, Q2 brings turbulence to shipping household goods, specifically with international ocean freight.
Before getting into the 2025 outlook, please note that there will be some delays with service in parts of the US that are getting winter weather they are not accustomed to getting. The seaports in Houston, TX, and Jacksonville, FL, are closed today and should reopen tomorrow.
The International Longshoremen’s Association has reached a tentative agreement with the port operators on the East Coast and Texas, providing a new six-year contract. Thankfully, this means business as usual for these critically important ports.
Winter Storm Blair has come across the middle of the US, causing over 10000 flight cancellations and treacherous travel conditions. The Mid-Atlantic states are under a severe winter weather warning through Tuesday. Moving services are impacted in many areas, and our team has updated customers with any schedule changes.
Ports in Canada resumed operations today, and all will be operational by tomorrow. This action came at the hands of Canada’s labor board, which ordered the workers back to duty while talks continue.
Yesterday, essential ports in Canada shut down due to a labor strike. Workers at the Ports of Prince Rupert and Vancouver are striking due to a dispute around automation, which is also an outstanding issue with the East Coast ports in the US.
Thankfully, workers at the ports from Maine to Texas are busy processing the backlog of ships from last week’s short-lived strike and will be caught up by Friday.
As of now, the U.S. port strike has officially ended following a tentative agreement between the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX)
Port workers from the entire East Coast to the Gulf of Mexico are expected to strike tomorrow at 12:01 AM EST. There is a slim chance that the port workers and operators will arrive at a deal to avoid this anticipated East Coast port strike.
In parts of the US, the school buses are back on the road, once again slowing the commute for the minority of us who still commute. 
With school back in session, I can safely declare that peak season is over. With that, crew capacity will be much better, so keep sending us those last-minute rush moves.
Peak season is here, yet capacity is much better than in recent years. Here are some major markets where capacity is tight through the rest of June and into July.
The Red Sea disruption remains the biggest challenge and we see this continuing for some time. This week, shipping line Maersk stated the disruptions could last until the second half of the year.
Some great news on a longtime issue where relocating transferee’s information is made publicly available via the shipping manifest for their household’s goods coming into the US.
At the first of the year our president, Chris Meyer, will be retiring from the industry that he has spent over 40 years in.
International shipping will not be ending on a quiet note for 2023.
14% of global shipping sails through the Red Sea, which major shipping lines have stopped using after a recent wave of attacks on their ships in that area. Ships will need to be re-routed which will bring longer transit times and higher costs. Besides impacting what we do this will also add a new inflation risk to the economy.
Overall, we are seeing much smoother sailing in 2023, with much better transit times and for most lanes, greatly reduced costs compared to the last couple of years.
In honor of Women’s History Month, I reached out to our New York office General Manager, Susan Barton. Here are some insightful and inspirational highlights from our conversation:
Currently, France is experiencing a national strike against pension reform, which is impacting the transportation sector, including the movement of household goods.
Airports in southeastern Turkey, including Gaziantep Oguzeli International Airport (LTAJ/GZT) and Kahramanmaras Airport (LTCN/KCM), remain open only for rescue and aid operations.
Last year brought us incremental improvements over 2021 in a few areas and increased challenges in other areas. Domestic service was greatly improved, with international seeing transit time and cost pains.
While not quite a manic as 2021, the 2022 peak season is still intense. Labor challenges continue to be one of the larger issues globally, which has a direct impact on crew availability and affecting transit times.
At this point, it is clear 2022 is going to feel about the same as 2021. A lot of volume and still a shortage of labor to do the actual moving. We are already seeing dates fill up in June, so make sure you get your transferees to set dates sooner than later.
The impact of the lockdowns in China as result of COVID outbreaks has become a sizable issue for moving household goods and shipping in general. Currently there are lockdowns in Shanghai that were set to end earlier this week, however, our partners are reporting they could be extended for at least another two weeks.
First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers to the people of Ukraine and all impacted by this terrible situation.
In the Ukraine, household good services have ceased this week and all other relocation service is difficult at best right now. If you do need assistance, do let us know and we will try to be of help.
Like all of you, wish we had better news out of Ukraine, but as of now no positive changes to report.
In Russia, we can still help get people out of the country, however, transit times and costs are extremely high.
There are two newer impacts to this crisis. Firstly, in the EU, much of the wood used in the shipping industry, as well as cardboard industry, comes from Ukraine. The lack of production will impact availability and of course, pricing.
As you might imagine there is little change in Ukraine in terms of relocation services availability. We do understand there is a need to get goods out of the country for expats that have goods there, however, realistically this will not be happening in the short-term.
This crisis will continue to have an impact on global shipping for some time to come.
In 2019, Karlibow achieved a milestone that is increasingly rare in the relocation industry. We are proudly celebrating 50 years of continuous operation in the household hoods moving business.
Karlibow was founded in 1969 in the financial district of New York City, with a mission to provide world-class moving services to Fortune 500 clients who were relocating their employees.
Past News Articles
Overall, we are seeing much smoother sailing in 2023, with much better transit times and for most lanes, greatly reduced costs compared to the last couple of years.
In honor of Women’s History Month, I reached out to our New York office General Manager, Susan Barton. Here are some insightful and inspirational highlights from our conversation:
Currently, France is experiencing a national strike against pension reform, which is impacting the transportation sector, including the movement of household goods.
Airports in southeastern Turkey, including Gaziantep Oguzeli International Airport (LTAJ/GZT) and Kahramanmaras Airport (LTCN/KCM), remain open only for rescue and aid operations.
Last year brought us incremental improvements over 2021 in a few areas and increased challenges in other areas. Domestic service was greatly improved, with international seeing transit time and cost pains.
While not quite a manic as 2021, the 2022 peak season is still intense. Labor challenges continue to be one of the larger issues globally, which has a direct impact on crew availability and affecting transit times.
At this point, it is clear 2022 is going to feel about the same as 2021. A lot of volume and still a shortage of labor to do the actual moving. We are already seeing dates fill up in June, so make sure you get your transferees to set dates sooner than later.
The impact of the lockdowns in China as result of COVID outbreaks has become a sizable issue for moving household goods and shipping in general. Currently there are lockdowns in Shanghai that were set to end earlier this week, however, our partners are reporting they could be extended for at least another two weeks.
First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers to the people of Ukraine and all impacted by this terrible situation.
In the Ukraine, household good services have ceased this week and all other relocation service is difficult at best right now. If you do need assistance, do let us know and we will try to be of help.
Like all of you, wish we had better news out of Ukraine, but as of now no positive changes to report.
In Russia, we can still help get people out of the country, however, transit times and costs are extremely high.
There are two newer impacts to this crisis. Firstly, in the EU, much of the wood used in the shipping industry, as well as cardboard industry, comes from Ukraine. The lack of production will impact availability and of course, pricing.
As you might imagine there is little change in Ukraine in terms of relocation services availability. We do understand there is a need to get goods out of the country for expats that have goods there, however, realistically this will not be happening in the short-term.
This crisis will continue to have an impact on global shipping for some time to come.
In 2019, Karlibow achieved a milestone that is increasingly rare in the relocation industry. We are proudly celebrating 50 years of continuous operation in the household hoods moving business.
Karlibow was founded in 1969 in the financial district of New York City, with a mission to provide world-class moving services to Fortune 500 clients who were relocating their employees.
When “No Noise” is key, Experience is Everything
