While Red Sea and Hormuz shipping disruptions have dominated headlines, IAM members on the ground in the Gulf report that the moving industry itself is holding steady as ocean freight disruption bites.
According to regional IAM Core Members Management Board representatives, Shankar Ram at Delight International Movers and Ankit Bhalla at Leader Relocations, moving companies are adapting rather than grinding to a halt. Origin and destination services, including customs clearance, continue to operate normally across the UAE and most Gulf markets. The real pressure point remains upstream, where reduced vessel availability and constantly shifting carrier schedules have pushed transit times by more than 30 days beyond pre-conflict norms.
That squeeze is reshaping how moves get planned. Export containers now need to be booked weeks in advance to secure space on sold-out lanes, and many outbound shipments are sitting in storage for one to three weeks while movers wait for confirmed sailings, adding cost that isn’t always recoverable from the customer.
In terms of demand, quote activity has held reasonably well through the June-July peak season, but confirmed bookings are down year-over-year as some customers take a wait-and-see approach on cost. That cost sensitivity is splitting the market. Corporate accounts are largely absorbing higher freight rates and proceeding as planned, while private customers are more likely to scale back shipment volumes, delay moves, or hold goods in storage until rates and schedules stabilize.
IAM Member Impact: Expect elevated storage utilization and extended timelines to persist as the near-term norm. Members should plan container bookings well in advance, communicate realistic transit expectations, and warn private customers navigating this environment of likely additional costs.
Member Contributions: Delight International Movers Leader Relocations