Household Goods Shipping Update

August 15, 2024

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.

Last week, a containership exploded in one of the major parts of China, resulting in the port in Ningbo being closed. This will only exacerbate the port congestion and delays that have been taking place throughout Asia while simultaneously seeing record-high demand. There will be re-routings, blanked (canceled) sailings, and container shortages. All of this, sadly, contributes to longer transit times and higher costs.

We also see port congestion and increased freight costs with shipments in and out of South America, especially Argentina.

There are some delays with air cargo involving India due to weeks of protests at the airport in Bangladesh. With the protests over, this situation will improve.

As expected, our teams proactively inform our customers about delays, set expectations, and explore other options.

With the Olympics ending last week, we hear things are much better in Paris. Most of the restrictions that were in place have been lifted.

Finally, we get emails about potential labor strikes at different ports worldwide. Many of these never come to fruition, so we only report on them when they happen and, more importantly, will have a meaningful impact on corporate relocation.

Thank you for reading, and once again, your questions and feedback are appreciated!