n the recent past, a corporate employee relocating
to Europe could expect to get household belongings shipped to the new location in
about six weeks. But because of a shortage of shipping containers, it takes twice
as long these days, and the process can sometimes drag on for up to six months.
Coming home is no fun either. Containers of household belongings
are high on the list of potentially suspicious cargo subject to search by U.S. Customs.
Containers packed by household movers get opened, examined and then repacked by
dock workers, who are not known for their delicacy. Employees relocating to the
U.S. have had their household goods mangled in the new era of heightened security.
"If you saw some of these containers that were examined, the
contents look like they have been put back in with a bulldozer," says Boris Populoh,
director of programs and education at the Household Goods Forwarders Association
of America, based in Alexandria, Virginia.
Populoh relates one recent case in which a household container
was shipped with a few pieces of carefully crated and stowed rare art along with
furnishings. The container was unpacked, inspected and repacked at a U.S. port.
The loose art was then put at the bottom of the container, and chairs, tables and
other furniture were tossed on top.
While problems in shipping goods haven’t slowed down international
relocations, which several surveys indicate are on the rise, the issues have caused
headaches for employees moving out of and into the U.S. on assignments.
"It is a logistical nightmare," says Earl Lee, president of
Prudential Relocation.
The shipment of household goods out of the United States has
run up against the weak U.S. dollar, which has made U.S. products more competitive
worldwide. As a result, U.S. exports are rising. Empty containers that used to stack
up at the Port of Long Beach in California waiting to return to China or elsewhere
in Asia now are being snatched up by American manufacturers. Even farmers have started
getting into the act, piling grain into containers for shipment overseas. The resulting
shortage of containers is compounded by a shortage of space on ships.
"If you can find a container, you are having trouble getting
it onto a ship," says Thomas Weimer, who directs global transportation for Prudential
Relocation.
When the dollar was high and international trade was mostly
heading into the U.S., relocation companies had the luxury of ordering up a container
and reserving space on a ship with no advance notice.
"We used to refer to transportation on the international side
as a limitless commodity," says Greg Hoover, president and COO of Atlas Van Lines.
"These days you have to book three to four months in advance. Some companies reserve
space on speculation."
The tight shipping market, coupled with rising fuel prices,
has doubled the cost of shipping household goods internationally, Populoh says.
Getting goods back to the U.S. has its own challenges. Thanks
to heightened security, household goods shipped through U.S. ports are often searched.
The first step is an X-ray of the packed container. Because household goods packed
in containers can be difficult to positively identify, officials often require that
the containers be opened so everything inside can be examined.
"There is a much higher likelihood that a household container
will be pulled aside than other containers," Populoh says. The situation affects
not just returning Americans but also foreigners taking up job assignments in the
United States. The situation has become bad enough for Populoh’s association to
appeal to Congress for help—so far without much success.
"What we have been trying to tell members of Congress is that
this could directly affect the competitiveness of the U.S." he says.
Workforce Management,
August 11, 2008, p. 34
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