Update July

Published on 1 July 2022

In this new update we would like to give you an overview of what we have seen over the last few weeks. We will continue to keep you informed on what is going on in the international relocation industry and the impacts due to the Ukraine/Russia conflict, as this will have an influence on a lot of relocations we perform.

Some  topics we will keep you updated on throughout this blog:

Global freight

Over the past year the container freight market has increased globally and the prices continue to evolve at historic highs. During a call with retailers, President Joe Biden said he expected the container prices to continue to spike this year. Shipping companies who ship from Asia to the U.S. have raised their prices by as much as 1000 percent. Additionally, the UNCTAD (UN Conference on Trade and Development) points to the war in Ukraine complicating trade and logistics of the country and the Black Sea region, resulting in increasing demand for containers and growing costs of shipping around the world.

For the first time since April 2020, long-term maritime freight rates between China and the US West Coast are higher than spot rates. The freight market analytics company Xeneta reported that the average cost for long-term contracts — on cargo traveling in three months or more — was 2.7 percent more than the cost for short-term transit on transpacific routes. On a long-term contract, it currently costs roughly $7,980 to carry a 40-foot container from China to the US’s major commercial gateways on the West Coast, almost double from the $3,070 spent a year ago. Prices for short-term moves are currently at approximately $7,770, up 47 percent from the previous year.

Source: Bloomberg, Supply Chain Latest: Ocean Freight Rates Are Falling

Shortage of staff

The shortage of staff can be felt in all sectors, including the global mobility sector. With the peak period ahead, it is a challenge for many moving companies to keep up with the increasing demand from customers. This applies to both movers and drivers. The annual driver shortage report conducted by the International Road Transport Union (IRU) reveals that vacant commercial driver positions are spreading alarmingly quickly over the world.

In the countries being analyzed, there were over 2.6 million vacant truck driver positions in 2021, and this number is expected to rise sharply in 2022. In 2021, the need for truck drivers has grown in all areas assessed with the exception of Eurasia. The situation was particularly bad in Turkey and Eurasia, where there were respectively 18% and 15% of open driving positions in 2021. The least impacted countries, Mexico and Argentina, had 8.6% of open truck driver positions.

Source: Driver Shortage Global Report 2022