Shipping Industry in Crisis


Posted on February 12, 2021



The shipping industry is in crisis worldwide, and this is having a serious impact on international removal services particularly for clients moving to and from the UK.

Some shipping lines are now actively trying to avoid UK ports due to serious congestion and backlogs, resulting in less vessels coming and in and out of the UK. The congestion has been building up for a number of years just through sheer volume of containers coming into the UK, but this has been compounded recently because the road haulage market continues to face ongoing challenges as there are simply not enough drivers to collect containers from the port. All of this, in addition to BREXIT whiBrch has caused chaos with the UK Customs authorities, and COVID has resulted in millions of containers being out of position is having major ramifications on the shipping of containers around the world. Freight rates on the open market have increased dramatically over the last few months and in some cases have quadrupled.

So what can clients that are moving overseas expect in the coming months?

Well certainly Movers will be less inclined to forecast door to door removals transit times. We have already seen quite significant delays at customs due to BREXIT, with customs officers on both side of the English Channel unsure of what documentation is required for customers moving to France, or relocating to Spain. Customers need to expect delays, whereas before ClickMoves could guarantee weekly removal services to France , Sweden, and Spain.

Should ClickMoves customers must also expect additional costs due to all this upheaval?

We are making every effort to avoid additional charges, but the reality is that with increased freight rates, and increased customs clearance cost, we may need to pass on some of the extra costs to customers. Realistically if we have a removals truck sitting in Calais waiting for 2 days and nights for approval to cross the Channel, the driver still needs to be paid, and the truck is out of service for 2 days – and to add to the pain, we need to pay for parking.

Container Ship at Port

What can international removal service clients expect in the coming months?

Looking forward no doubt the customs processes will smooth out, and the required paperwork will be standardized. Its clearly in nobodies interest to have these lengthy delays at border crossings. However, we would not expect to see freight rates to come down in the foreseeable future. International removal services will still be operating of course, so we will be able to complete door to door moving services, however there will continue to be a few more barriers to cross.

ClickMoves is an international removals company, providing quality door to door relocation services to most major cities around the world. If you’re planning to relocate overseas please contact us on enquiries@clickmoves.com