Relief & Impact Updates

August 17, 2022

Hello!

Thanks for your patience, as it has been a while since our last update.

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.

While slightly better than 2021, port congestion persists this year. Rail congestion played a big role in delays over the summer. Port strikes have come up, with one potentially starting this Sunday in Felixstowe. This is the UK’s largest port and the strike is set to last 8 days.

We are starting to seeing signs of relief on freight pricing for a few lanes, however, ship space availability remains at an a big issue, along with sailing reliability.

In Western Europe, The Rhine River has dropped to very low levels, limiting its cargo capacity. This water way is essential for moving cargo within this region.

In Asia, we are seeing delays due to the tensions over Taiwan. Air and sea freight was halted to and from Taiwan from certain countries. Additionally ships are avoiding the usually heavily traveled Taiwan Straight due to military maneuvers taking place there.

On the good news front, the price of lumber and fuel have started to come back down. We have been able to reduce crating costs. Karlibow did not add any fuel surcharges during the extraordinarily high fuel prices this summer.

As always, if you have any comments, questions or news to provide, please do so! Alex.talbot@karlibow.com We love hearing from you!

Finally, here is the transferee quote of the month.
“Sharon is incredibly responsive and finds solutions when no one else can, or doesn’t want to. She has been amazing in all of our moves and is a total asset to your company.”

Be well!