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The pandemic that we are living in right now was not supposed to persist as long as it did. We all remember our naïve selves during the first two weeks of lockdown. Everyone thought that things will go back to normal within two weeks and that everyone will not be restrained from traveling around.
However, something that was not clear to anyone was the extent to which this pandemic will alter our lives. I sometimes find myself weirded out by the pictures of people without masks in a public place. How has it completely changed our view of life?
The Dreads of Covid-19
It is not only individuals feeling the influence of Covid-19 but also companies. Industries as a whole felt the effects as the surge of this pandemic rolled in. Some failed to withstand the blow and fell prey to it.
Think of industry and look it up, you will for sure find some impacts (be it positive or negative) of covid on it. The way, strategies were implemented and corporates used to operate, changed entirely. Employees started working from home to the best of their abilities and everyone adapted to the new normal. Nothing is normal about this “new normal”.
Backbone of Trade
One of the industries that have been affected by Covid-19 is the cargo industry. The cargo industry is the backbone of trade and nothing is rendered possible if the whole system of shipment was to break down.
Goods in bulk travel from place to place through varied means. Cargo can be sent to different places through sea, land, or air. Planes, ships, and containers are supposed to tow freights and reach their destination in the allotted time where they are then delivered to their respective places.
The sleek product lines
How do you think the imported goods from the UK, Germany, France, USA, etc. reach your supermarkets? A complicated layout was to be displayed to answer this question. However, if I were to simplify it then, I would say, “Freight services to Pakistan.” Contracts are done and products are bought resulting in cargo to Pakistan from the UK and many other countries.
These sleek product lines are not the only ones entrusting these cargo industries with all their efforts and goods. Even small business owners have to get their products from sites like Alibaba through these industries. So, to sum it up, it is not only a bumpy ride for large fishes in the market but also for the newcomers who are trying to run their small business.
Seen and Unseen Impacts
When it is said that there is a silver lining in a dark cloud too, they say no lies. That silver lining is the positive impacts of covid-19 on the cargo industry in this case.
Influx of orders
People trying to find new things and new ways to operate, unknowingly increased the number of incoming orders for different product lines. Even the most absurd items were given a chance. Pakistanis tried new items from online stores.
If I were to focus mainly on the transportation between Pakistan and UK, then all that cargo to Pakistan from the UK came through sea or air. This protected people from the excessive exposure of the outside and saved a lot of people from the mouth of fatality.
The darker side
However, not to portray surreal situations because everything glittering is not gold. The adverse effects seem to overshadow the positive side. The grim picture of impacts of Covid-19 on the freight services to Pakistan is no less than horrendous.
Inevitable delays
The delays in orders are not a foreign concept. All thanks to Covid-19 for store owners having to repeatedly apologize to customers due to the delay of cargo to Pakistan from the UK. “The container on its way from the UK got stuck at a seaport due to Covid protocols.” “Freight services to Pakistan are delayed because cargo flights are banned to observe a lockdown.”
These delays have cost cargo industries millions of dollars. With more orders pouring in, it is inevitable to come across one of these delays. It takes months for the freight services to Pakistan to start operating again leaving the industries in a crippling condition.
All in all, it can be summed up that Covid-19 has impacted the cargo industry in a major way. This industry was the one most operational but still the most affected one during these dark times. Covid-19 continues to persist but will the impacts do the same? No one can provide an exact logical answer to that.