Shaping the Future of Global Mobility: Key Insights from IAM’s Cost Pressure Report 

The International Association for Movers (IAM) recent white paper, Understanding Cost Pressures in the Moving Industry (2020–2025), details the economic shift within the global moving and storage industry since 2020. As mobility leaders encounter challenges with cost control, the IAM report offers impactful data within key categories such as warehousing, labor, fuel, and equipment surveyed over the past five years. This data has a far-reaching impact on programs that oversee household goods shipments, offer temporary storage, and other related services. The IAM report provides the opportunity for programs to strengthen budget forecasting to support informed decisions across critical cost categories.  

The Impact: The IAM report has strong implications for managing relocation programs. Pandemic-era cost spikes were not temporary but have had a lasting impact across multiple cost categories, with costs rising from as much as 30% to over 80%. IAM’s findings offer mobility leaders historical data to help understand cost trends when procuring movers while highlighting the need for proactive risk management to mitigate cost overruns.  

Retaining Women in the Workforce: The Role of Flexible Relocation and Family Support 

Since the start of 2025, more than 212,000 women aged 20 and over have left the workforce, according to Time. Mothers aged 25 to 44 experienced a decline in labor participation rate from 69.7% in January to 66.9% in June. This notable shift is happening post-pandemic, driven by high childcare costs fueled by the ending of federal childcare subsidies, rising cost of living, and growing inflation. While some women are willingly exiting the workforce, among those who are not, the decline raises concerns for gender equity and the long-term impact of their lost earnings on the economy.  

The Impact: To ensure female talent is retained in the workforce, mobility professionals should focus on aligning relocation opportunities with employees’ personal and professional goals. This includes offering more flexible relocation packages that acknowledge caregiving responsibilities. Relocation packages that identify childcare or schooling options that are near the work assignment are crucial. Even spousal employment assistance in the host location can effectively ease the financial burdens and stress. By integrating these targeted solutions, organizations can better support all talent, maintain workforce equity, and ensure that critical skills are retained within the company. 

 EU State Subsidy Shift: Implications for Talent Mobility and Relocation Strategy 

Eurative reports that the European Union has loosened its restrictions on state subsidies and is now allowing member states to offer financial assistance to companies navigating excessive energy costs until 2030. The EU has been experiencing high energy expenses, and hopes this change will prevent businesses from relocating to other countries with lower energy costs. Green energy initiatives continue to be a priority for the EU, as the need to balance environmental goals with economic competitiveness is critical.  

The Impact: For mobility leaders, this shift has significant implications. It directly affects talent mobility and assignment planning, as well as intersects with broader macro trends impacting the global businesses. Rising protectionism could contribute to increasing costs, while a growing emphasis on domestic production could eliminate the need for international relocations. Companies located in areas that receive subsidies could become more attractive to employees, which in turn may require strategic relocation packages. Cost structures and budgets will also be directly impacted, as mobility leaders will need to consider how the local economic environment and operational subsidies influence typical relocation costs. Policy awareness and compliance are essential, since member states can provide financial support, mobility leaders must stay informed and ensure that assignments comply with local regulations and related policies.    

UK Millionaire Exodus: Implications for Global Mobility and Strategic Relocation Planning 

According to City AM, rising tax costs, a stagnant economy, and the lure of greater opportunity and stability are driving the exodus of more than 16,500 millionaires from the UK in 2025. Henley & Partners completed the annual Wealth Migration Report and found that high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) are relocating to the United Aram Emirates (upwards of 9,800 individuals), the United States (7,800 individuals), and Italy (3,600 individuals) to avoid tax increases for wealthy Brits. A parallel trend identified by Mansion Global reports that many of the UK’s non-domiciled (non-dom) billionaires (about 70% of sellers) are selling their luxury homes in record numbers. These affluent individuals, now faced with taxes on overseas income, are seeking more lucrative tax arrangements abroad.  

The Impact: The departure of HNWIs could negatively impact economic activity and lead to a decrease in investment in the UK. Within the housing market, the sale of luxury homes could lead to a surplus of high-end properties, which could affect their overall selling price. The amount of homes available could delay selling timelines, as high-value homes may take longer to sell. For mobility leaders, these shifts may require adjustments to relocation policies and housing allowances, particularly if changes in the availability and pricing of luxury housing alter the competitive landscape for attracting and retaining top talent. Additionally, the broader perception of the UK as a high-tax environment could influence long-term talent mobility strategies, especially for executives and professionals accustomed to more favorable tax regimes abroad. 

 Landmark Ruling Extends Australian Labor Protections to Offshore Workers 

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reports that the Fair Work Commission recently ruled in favor of a Filipino worker who filed an unfair dismissal claim against an Australian-based company, setting a legal precedent for foreign worker protections. Based in the Philippines, Joanna Pascua was hired by a Brisbane credit repair company to perform paralegal work at $18/hr. When Pascua was let go, she contested the firing and prepared a legal defense claiming that, as an offshore worker, she was entitled to local Australian work protections. The Commission agreed and deemed Pascua a lawful employee of the Australian company, which afforded her access to the national minimum work standards, with a wage of at least $24.87/hr.  According to the report, there are likely “tens of thousands” of similar offshore workers working at reduced labor costs without workplace protections.  

The Impact:The Commission’s decision to classify Pascua as a lawful employee directly challenges the custom of hiring offshore workers at a fractional rate without local labor protections. Businesses that choose to continue this practice may be required to pay offshore workers minimum wage, provide benefits, abide by anti-discrimination laws, and offer them unfair dismissal protections.  

For mobility leaders, this case highlights a need to integrate employment law risk assessments into relocation policies. CapRelo’s new client-facing AI solution has been trained on hundreds of relocation policies to help our clients build compliant policies that factor in legislation across the globe.  

 Global Mobility Radar 

CapRelo’s Mobility Radar provides valuable insights into trends worth monitoring. This month, we have detected important global mobility updates in Western and Northern Europe.  

• European ports are experiencing higher-than-usual dwell times (between seven and eight days), as labor shortages, redesigned shipping timelines, and construction closures exacerbate shipping issues. Ongoing congestion is expected to last for several months, as the U.S. and the European Union continue to negotiate a trade deal and challenges around the Red Sea persist. 

• Global conflict, stricter borders, and travel bans are motivating expats to take precautions and carefully select their destinations. Some are turning to “safe countries” such as Costa Rica, Iceland, Greenland, and South Africa as global unrest and uncertainty become pressing relocation factors.  

• Major carriers have expanded their capacity during the first half of 2025. Alphaliner reports a 1.18 million TEU increase in global container capacity through acquisitions and rebuilds, MSC expanded its fleet by 365,173 TEU, and CMA CGM has exceeded 4 million TEU in capacity.