far from an easy task : “ Because of the pandemic there are huge delays at ports , which makes it very difficult for us to reliably transport anything by sea . Now we are having to tell clients to factor in additional time for shipping and having to factor in additional rotations for gear , which if you ’ re renting can cause costs to skyrocket .”
He says the freight forwarding sector has also been impacted by shipping operators charging so-called “ express-fees ”, which guarantee cargo will ship in a timely way but can be three or four times higher than pre-pandemic shipping rates . It now means that paying standard rates doesn ’ t guarantee that the cargo will be on the boat when it should be , due to the habitual overbooking of boats .
Palmer believes that what the industry needs more than anything in 2022 is for the threat from Covid , and the mitigation measures , to subside across the Globe . He says , “ The biggest challenge for us in the next year is the continuing uncertainty over Covid-19 . We need the world to open back up again so that it is possible to operate world tours .”
The closure of certain countries to touring , combined with massive uncertainties around actually getting equipment to venues on time all add up to additional costs for artists and production companies trying to put on shows . With some tours operating with tight margins , the additional cost could mean the financial bottom line moving from black to red .
Keep on moving In a similar way to how many event crew had to find alternative work
“ Now we are having to tell clients to factor in additional time for shipping and to factor in additional rotations for gear , which if you ’ re renting can cause costs to skyrocket .” – Matt Wright during lockdown while the live music industry closed up shop , the pandemic has meant that many freight companies had to diversify their portfolios to stay afloat .
For Freight Minds it meant creating a commercial cargo arm . Wright explains , “ If it wasn ’ t for the pandemic it is unlikely we would have gone into the commercial cargo sector . Now , we ’ ve hired a commercial cargo general manager who will develop that part of the business for us . Covid has really changed how freight businesses think , meaning a lot of them will have to move into more diverse markets outside of events .”
Palmer says that in some ways the pandemic and the need to diversify has strengthened his company : “ It is really exciting that we are in sectors that don ’ t need a huge audience to operate . We ’ re doing a lot of things in the classic cars world , and we ’ re working with the film industry moving equipment across the world for productions .”
Such diversification has meant that some events freight forwarding specialists are better equipped to survive periods of adverse market conditions than pre-pandemic , with many of the alternative markets requiring similar skill sets .
At a time when inflation is soaring , and the demands on the event industry supply chain are acute , the added cost and time involved in freight forwarding for international tours is the last thing any production company or events promoter needs . Thankfully , despite Covid-19 , the events sector can still call on specialist companies that are able to use years of experience to minimise rising costs and explore ways to navigate an increasingly challenging international touring market .
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