SHIPPING AND TRADE SHOWS: What to Anticipate This Summer And Fall

With geopolitical tensions around the world affecting the transportation landscape, it’s difficult to predict what events will occur in the months ahead to impact trade shows and their participants.

PIBL monitors many variables that influence shipping, from war-induced routing changes to vessel delays, escalating costs, port congestion, tariffs, use of AI, climate change, and cargo theft. We’ve had a very active year so far successfully navigating these worldwide issues. In the first five months of 2026, PIBL cleared, delivered, and moved an estimated 300 containers/trailers and over 500 air freight, LCL, and domestic shipments to trade shows in the U.S. Here are a few of the factors that we believe could affect the timing and expense of shipments in the coming months:

• Middle East tensions continue to impact ocean shipping routes in that part of the world as well as airfreight capacity. These routes include passage in the Middle East, Indian subcontinent, Africa, and Southeast Asia. Availability on vessels and rates are fluctuating, and PIBL monitors that information daily. Airlines are instituting disruption surcharges and/or elevated fuel surcharges. The Strait of Hormuz has been essentially closed, so carriers rerouted cargo over the past months, resulting in port congestion, increased ocean rates and transit times. Vessel delays currently average 5-7 days. We will continue to monitor the issues of freight passage through the Strait of Hormuz with the breakthrough in peace negotiations. While there is potential for the Strait to reopen soon, some experts indicate it might take weeks before normal shipping operations resume.



• Duty rates may stabilize in the fall due to court decisions in the U.S.

• Transit through the Panama Canal has become more expensive with rising fuel costs and congestion fees for carriers. This is due to an ongoing dispute between China and Panama over terminal operations. A ruling by the Panama Supreme Court upheld the decision to deny a Chinese-government backed company permission to operate container terminals on the Pacific and Atlantic sides of the canal. China is detaining Panama-flagged vessels that carry a substantial share of U.S. containerized trade. This dispute is contributing to longer transit times by vessels and decreased schedule reliability. According to the Federal Maritime Commission in the U.S., the Panama Canal concerns, “could result in significant commercial and strategic consequences to U.S. shipping.” 

• U.S. Customs and Border Protection Advises of Surge in Cargo Theft. According to CPB, cargo theft in the nation has escalated dramatically across truck, rail and air with organized crime groups targeting the country’s supply chains. The agency describes the shift from “traditional theft by small crews to sophisticated, strategic theft by organized crime rings using deception, cybercrime and fraud...” Citing recent industry reports, CBP estimates that cargo theft costs the U.S. freight transportation industry $18 million each day with 74% of stolen goods never recovered. While PIBL hasn’t experienced any stolen shipments, we anticipate stepped-up enforcement efforts by CBP to counter this surge in cargo theft.

THE SUNFLOWER'S TUMULTUOUS JOURNEY AT SEA: CARING FOR OUR CUSTOMERS' CONTAINERS

The challenging world of transportation necessitates that we manage each shipment with preparation, precision and prowess. Yet even with our decades of expertise, unusual circumstances can derail our carefully orchestrated efforts. 

We’re sharing an incident this past year when a vessel containing trade show shipments encountered severe weather conditions during its voyage. This ship captured media attention with images of its teetering containers appearing in national news posts. On board the OOCL Sunflower were containers belonging to our customers - Chinese exhibitors participating in the Coverings Show. 

PIBL has been the official freight forwarder and U.S. Customs Broker for the Coverings Show for more than twenty-five years. This year we handled 400 shipments for international exhibitors, among them exhibit materials for forty Chinese exhibitors whose cargo was loaded onto the Sunflower vessel. That ship, which departed Taiwan enroute to the Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach, was one of the last vessels that Chinese exhibitors attending Coverings could use for timely delivery to the show. The ship’s scheduled arrival date was, however, close to the show’s move-in window.

The ship encountered stormy weather near the Aleutian Islands which caused dozens of containers to be lost at sea, with many other containers damaged during the voyage. Once the vessel arrived near the Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach, the U.S. Coast Guard began a staged operation to evaluate damage to the ship and any hazards prior to its berthing. Delays were mounting. The vessel arrived late at the port due to the weather, and further delays ensued because of the strict protocols and complex clean-up procedures in place. Manpower constraints further hindered the speed of operations at the terminal which affected the timing of Customs clearances. 

PIBL worked tirelessly through every means possible, including enlisting the support of port administration, to secure priority offloading of the exhibitors’ containers and expedited Customs inspection. Once it was determined that those containers were on board and in good condition, we arranged for a driver to be on standby ready to depart as soon as the shipments cleared Customs. The exhibitors were allowed a later move-in date at Coverings, two days after the start of the show. 

While these unforeseen circumstances could not be avoided, PIBL offers these recommendations to help international exhibitors mitigate problems at future shows. 

• Ship early! The current climate suggests that many sea freight shipments are experiencing average delays of 5-7 days. Consider taking advantage of advance warehouse services. PIBL suggests this option as needed to reduce the possibility of cargo arriving too late to meet move-in dates for shows.

• Understand the value of trade show expertise when choosing a freight forwarder. PIBL was able to work with port management to secure swifter reviews of the Sunflower containers because of our ongoing relationships and processes at the port that stretched over two decades. There is a clear benefit to using a show’s official freight forwarder for their knowledge of the show’s requirements, and ability to coordinate related processes such as port activity, trucking, and event services. 

• Evaluate factors beyond cost. We urge international exhibitors to consider the reputation and record of companies (as well as costs) when choosing a freight forwarding service. It can prove far more expensive to miss a show because of delays or denied entry to the U.S. For example, this spring we were contacted by several managers at shows where PIBL was not the appointed freight forwarder (none were in place at the time). They asked us to intervene when some exhibitors using courier companies experienced problems with the entry of their shipments due to incorrectly prepared documents.

• Consider Response Time. More than 15 years ago PIBL developed an innovative program to monitor and document show shipments for exhibitors, giving us a vital record and historical view of their shipments. This functionality allows PIBL to have all related records at our fingertips, including items such as power of attorney, airway bill numbers, and trucking information. Our team can readily respond to urgencies that arise on the show site, should we need to aid contractors if freight is lost or misplaced. With this extensive record-keeping, we can also promptly assist with FDA or Customs audits on older shipments. For exhibitors and show managers, that program translates into quick and accurate answers and consistent on-time deliveries. Systems like this POST program can help protect your show participation in unexpected situations.

PHOENIXFOCUS

MOVING A ROBOT SCULPTURE TO JOHANNESBURG 



One of PIBL’s general cargo specialties is managing the transportation of fine artwork to ensure the level of extraordinary care required for often fragile and irreplaceable sculptures and paintings.

This spring PIBL arranged the shipment of a notable sculpture to the Johannesburg Contemporary Art Foundation in South Africa from Providence, Rhode Island to be included in an upcoming exhibition.

Paula Gaetano Adi is an Argentine-born artist and Professor of Experimental & Foundation Studies at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), one of the nation’s most renowned art colleges. Her works integrate robotics, sculpture, and performance, and have been exhibited and displayed in museums, conferences, and art festivals throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

PIBL arranged the transport of her Guanaquerx robot sculpture, which weighed more than 500 lbs., to Johannesburg – a move that required careful coordination between the artist, the foundation, and our agent network in South Africa. This artwork will be returned to Rhode Island following the exhibition in December.

Guanaquerx has an intriguing history of creation. As the artist describes, “On January 19, 2024, 207 years after the epic Crossing of the Andes that consolidated the liberation of South America, a revolutionary robot, along with its insurgent army of artists, engineers and local baqueanos (guides), reenacted Jose de San Martin’s historic journey in search of its freedom.” The artist explains that this sculpture was inspired by the local invention of guranaqueras—makeshift all-terrain vehicles developed by amateur car mechanics from the Andes region of San Juan, Argentina.

Guanaquerx became the first unmanned exploration robot to cross the Andes, transversing peaks over 15,000 feet high while gathering environmental data, sounds, images, and stories as evidence of Andean life, cosmovision, and bio-cultural diversity. Paula Gaetano Adi traveled to her hometown to develop this robot in collaboration with local artists and engineers.

Guanaquerx has been described by the artists and its builders as, “A future-oriented declaration, Guanaquerx is both multi-day performance/expedition and a collective artistic feat aimed at promoting an ‘andean cosmotechnics’ that fosters the conditions for all earth-beings to flourish.” 

To view details of the sculpture and this expedition, visit:

guanaquerx.com



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