Has COVID-19 Changed the Car Shipping Process?

The coronavirus pandemic has affected all aspects of our lives. While the Transportation industry has been categorized as an essential one by the Department of Homeland Security, it doesn’t mean that there weren’t any human and economic hardships. To better understand what the COVID-19 pandemic meant for the car shipping industry and how it affected this process, we need to take a look first at the car industry itself.

The Effects of COVID-19 on Car Production and Sales

As the virus started spreading around the world, car manufacturers were quick to respond and implement measures that would help them prevent workplace exposures to SARS-CoV-2. Some of the mandatory safety standards included physical distancing, mandatory masks, and protective gear, increased ventilation, hand sanitation, and so on.

All these measures, however, have led to a decrease in production as workers have to take the time to comply with these rules and implement them. Also, the number of state inspections have increased, which has made the overall car industry a bit slower.

Not only that auto production decreased, but customer demand declined too. The pandemic brought the entire country to a halt, many car dealerships closed, and sales dropped 47% in the US in April. While we started seeing signs of recovery as the country opened and the new vaccine was announced, it’s still difficult to estimate the full economic impact of the pandemic.

What Does It All Mean for Car Shipping?

With reduced production and demand, auto transport companies have taken a serious hit in the last year. International shipping was almost non-existent during the lockdown as most countries shut their borders. The same can be said for the moving industry as one of the major reasons people opt for a car shipping company is because they are moving to another city or country. While some people moved back to their home states when the country went into lockdown, relocation has generally dropped in 2020. The decline in demand has affected the entire industry, from small moving companies to even household names like a1autotransport.com.

Can You Still Ship a Car During the Pandemic

Although the country may have stopped, our lives continue and we still need to access certain services. Whether you are facing a job relocation or you just bought a new car and need to transport it to your home city, some circumstances require you to ship your vehicle. Our first piece of advice is to look for a shipping company that has taken all the measures to safely transport your car without the risk of infection.

You should also expect a slower process as most moving companies had to implement various adjustments to their work methods and schedules to keep their employees safe. For example, depending on the complexity of the move and the distance, most tasks are now carried alone or by small teams. The biggest changes have to do with the type of services customers can access. Companies are looking for ways to keep interactions to a minimum to protect their workers and avoid an outbreak. And, because services like door-to-door shipping may pose a greater risk than others, clients may not be able to access them.

What Will Happen Next?

There is hope that life will return to normal as vaccination efforts are on the way. But, it’s hard to say with certainty when the auto shipping industry will return to normal and what the economic consequences of the pandemic will be.b