Peak Season Update

June 14, 2024

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.

Atlanta, GA
Austin, TX
Chicago, IL
Cleveland, Ohio
Hawaii
Houston, TX
Jacksonville, FL
Los Angeles / Southern CA
NYC Tri-State area
Orlando, FL
Paris, France, will be very challenging from now until the end of the Olympics.
Philadelphia, PA
Phoenix, AZ
San Francisco (Bay Area) CA
Singapore

Unfortunately, many lanes are seeing significant increases in sea freight rates.

Last month, US imports from Asia were up 13% compared to May 2023. Some of this is due to retailers getting a jump on holiday goods, as August will see an increase in tariffs on goods from China.

The Red Sea crisis contributes to the significant increases we currently see.

There are varying opinions on how long this will last. My personal crystal ball tells me things will get better towards the end of Q3.

Air cargo shipping increased 9% month over month in May, and with ocean freight becoming pricey, air freight rates are expected to tick up.

On some excellent shipping news, two years back, there were regular headlines about containers falling off ships. I am happy to report that we lost only 221 containers overboard last year. This pales in comparison to the average of 2020 and 2021, which was 3113. I assure you, this is not another typo!

As always, the best way to minimize a transferees stress is to initiate the move as soon as possible. This allows us to set expectations early on and help guarantee they get the exact dates they need.