Many segments of the economy saw adjustments and new methods as a result of COVID-19. There is hardly any industry that stayed unaffected by the pandemic. In addition to the core affected businesses (Travel & tourism industry, healthcare industry, etc.), the global pandemic hit other fields too. The car shipping sector is not an exception.
In this article, we will cover the effects of COVID-19 on the vehicle transport industry.
The Automotive Industry Changes
The car shipping industry changes have a direct connection with the automotive business. Because of the world pandemic, economic decrease, and lockdown, the car industry suffered quite extensively. The number of vehicle sales dropped drastically in the world, including in the United States. The US automotive industry reports that many automakers have sharp declines in their vehicle sales, a dropdown of 7-30%.
How COVID-19 Affected the Car Shipping Industry
The dropped number of sales in the automotive business resulted in the vehicle transport industry’s speed. It slowed down drastically, sometimes even crawling. There is hardly a car shipping company that didn’t suffer from the COVID-19 effects. The majority of the carriers are currently operating at a loss or trying to cut their losses. However, it is worth noting that the low demand for automobile transportation services resulted in significant price reductions.
Moving Industry
Due to the lockdown and travel restrictions, people stopped traveling or relocating from one place to another. Hence, there was no need to ship their cars due to travel or relocation plans. At the beginning of the lockdown, the car shipping services’ demand was a little higher. Many students relocated to their hometowns as the campuses closed temporarily.
Safety Measures
With the rise of the pandemic, new safety measures came to light. There are mandatory safety standards for workers, such as physical distancing, wearing masks and protective glasses, regularly sanitizing hands, ventilating the rooms, and other small areas. As these new rules were new to everyone, it took time to adapt to them. Besides, state inspections to ensure that the car shipping providers abide by the regulations also slow down the overall car shipping process.
Positive Impacts of the COVID-19
No surprise that most of the effects of the pandemic on different industries are generally negative, given that it has a connection with people’s lives, health, economy, lifestyle, and not only. Nevertheless, there have been some positive shifts in the car shipping industry because of the lockdown. Because it was advisable to stay home, the traffic decreased drastically. It helped to avoid slow shipping, especially across major cities. Plus, less traffic means fewer car accidents.
Recovery
Now it would still be hard to calculate the losses of the car shipping industry as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the reduced car sales are vivid. Some rough calculations regarding car transport suggest a 75% decrease in the number of vehicles available to ship. It is hard to imagine how this amount can recover in a short while. It depends on global safety measures and public health.
Nevertheless, little by little, the car shipping industry is recovering from the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the number of vaccinated people increases, and the number of infected people decreases, many states are lifting the safety measures. The automotive industry recovers from the losses they met in 2020 up to 2021. With the lifting of the lockdown restrictions, the relocation and moving industry increase their operation slowly.
The main thing for car transport companies is to keep public health in mind and operate slowly but wisely. Trying to increase the sales aggressively to cover the last months’ losses may result in a new wave of the coronavirus. It would be the last thing anyone wants.