Navigating the Intricacies of International Relocation: Expert Move Coordinators Simplify Customs Procedures for an Easier Transition

Jack July 13, 2023 International Moving

Making International Moves Hassle-Free with Our Expert Move Coordinators

International moves can be daunting, especially when it comes to navigating customs procedures. The intricacies and variations at different ports only add to the complexity. Fortunately, our esteemed team of international move coordinators is here to alleviate the burden. With their unwavering dedication and extensive expertise in international moving, they assist both our clients and crews in seamlessly navigating the intricacies of the process.

Streamlining Customs Procedures for a Smooth International Relocation

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Coronavirus Statement Taylor Moving and Storage

Rick Taylor March 17, 2020 Resources, Press Release, News

The coronavirus and our reaction to it remains a fluid situation, however we at Taylor Moving and Storage have taken the following steps:

  1. We have ensured that each common area in our facility is disinfected each morning before employee's arrive.
  2. We have provided each employee with disinfectant to wipe down their truck each morning before driving.
  3. We have staggered our crew start times to ensure no large gatherings are happening in the am.
  4. We have asked each employee to wash their hands at each break (including lunch)
  5. We have asked each employee to have no body contact with other employees or customers. (no shaking of hands)

Taylor Moving has mandated that any employee who has any symptoms at all (e.g-cough, runny nose ,fever ) no matter how light to get tested immediately. Taylor will provide the employee's normal days wages during this testing day and will allow the employee back with a negative test result. Obviously any positive test result will need a manadtory 14 day quarrantine.

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Taylor Moving and Storage Wins Business Excellence Award

Rick Taylor April 9, 2018 Resources, Press Release, Events

Taylor Moving and Storage Wins Business Excellence Award

Taylor Moving was selected for this award from approximately 90 approached firms in the City of Burlington.

According to the Chamber, award nominations are based on business excellence in leadership, community contributions, entrepeneurship, enviroment, employee welfare, innovation and market growth.

As one of the two finalists we were thrilled to be presented the award during the black tie Burlington Business Awards Gala presented by RBC on April 5th 2018.

We do thank the Chamber but most of all our team of employees for making this possible.

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Driverless trucks?

Rick Taylor March 23, 2018 Resources, Press Release, Events

Driverless trucks?

Labour costs make up roughly 50% of a transportation companies total cost of operation. Coupled with a severly aging long haul driver pool ( the average age of a long haul driver will approach 50 by 2024) makes this an industry in dire need of change.

Sooner than we think,however, remote and driverless trucks are coming our way.

We were reminded of this recently when one of drivers met with Peter and Howard, owners of Sigma Intergrale while in California. (pictured in the photo, website www.sigmaintegrale.com)

The pictured truck is a fully functional remote controlled vehicle and has been tested on live roads throughout California.

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US Tax Reform and Employee Relocation

Rick Taylor February 23, 2018 Press Release, News, Oakville

With this new tax bill, relocation expenses will be deemed a taxable benefit to the employee even if the various costs are paid by the corporation.

Likewise, a person moving to a new job location who is paying for the move themselves will not be able to claim relocation expenses on their personal taxes.

These changes could have a large impact to the relocation industry as it will drive up costs as the corporation will probably "gross up" an employee's income to pay for the tax consequences of their relocation.

It will be interesting to see how this impacts the amount of employee relocations per year or if the corporation reduces other relocation benefits to reduce their costs.

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Greater Toronto Area Housing Slowing Down

Rick Taylor February 16, 2018 Press Release, Overseas Moving, Local Moving

The month of January 2018 saw 4019 residential homes sold a decrease of 22% from January 2017's 5155 homes.

Listings increased to 8558 indicating properties are not moving as quickly.

As far as prices go the condo market continues to lead the way. Detached home prices were actually down 4.1% to $736,783 while condos were up 5.2%.

It will be interesting to see how the market does for the rest of 2018.

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Opportunity to Help Can Happen Quickly

Rick Taylor February 12, 2018 Press Release, Events, Overseas Moving

Opportunity to Help Can Happen Quickly

When we looked into what Susila Dharma International does we were surprised by the scope of their efforts. I would urge everyone to take a look at their website as well www.susiladharma.org.

It surpirses me each time we are able to help out how much it does for our own staff, how they feel when they know they are making a difference. It's not only charity but good business!

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Why is an international moving network important?

Arthur Drewry January 12, 2017 Overseas Moving, International Moving, Employee Relocation

Why is an international moving network important?

Sooner or later, all of us move things.

You take boxes from the main floor of your home to your basement, you load pick-up trucks, move chairs to the cottage, beds to your university student’s apartment, and lawn mowers from one back yard to another.

However, when it comes to packing and shipping your precious possessions from one country to another, most people aren’t aware of the full extent of the process.

That’s why you need an international moving network.

Here is one example of how things can go wrong very fast.

Consider that if you are shipping a sizeable amount of household goods, they will likely be moved from country to country in a large container on a ship. The container is often moved from your current location by truck and/or train to the shipyard. Then a crane picks it up very high in the air and swings it over to the ship, stacking it neatly on another container.

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What differentiates one international mover from another?

Arthur Drewry January 10, 2017 Overseas Moving, International Moving, Employee Relocation

What differentiates one international mover from another?

There are a lot of international movers claiming to be experts in our field.

What is the criteria to follow to ensure that you have selected a quality mover to handle your move to your new home in another country?

It starts with the packing and goes from there.

Look at the experience, quality control, and procedures of your mover when it comes to selecting the team that will pack and move the things that matter most in your life.

For example, at Taylor International, we are unique in that we have a full time quality control supervisor dedicated to the training and development of our workers, packers and van foreman. We have each new hire interviewed by one of our owners. They must also take a Personality Profile test to see if they have the right attitude for the job. We also require a complete criminal records check of all our van foremen. As we direct hire & train our staff rather than use casual labor, we know that the team who packs and moves your goods are professionally trained and are key to ensuring that all goes smoothly.

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Why you need to activate your work visa before leaving Canada

Arthur Drewry January 4, 2017 Overseas Moving, International Moving, Employee Relocation

Why you need to activate your work visa before leaving Canada

The ease with which most people can travel the world on vacation can lead us to believe that we can easily go anywhere in the world armed with just our passport.

However, when you are moving to a foreign country to live or work, you will encounter a completely different scenario and will have to fulfill certain criteria upon arrival.

Just about every country has different rules and regulations about granting work visas, familiarizing yourself of these and having your work permit activated before you arrive will save you a lot of grief.

For example, in Canada, if you arrive on a work permit then you must ensure you leave the country when this permit expires. You have to show you have sufficient funds to support yourself and your family, have no criminal record and agree to obey the law whilst residing in Canada.

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Four benefits of hiring an international mover

Arthur Drewry December 21, 2016 Overseas Moving, International Moving, Employee Relocation

Four benefits of hiring an international mover

So you’ve just accepted an international assignment from your company and you are trying to make the transition from Canada to your new location as easily as possible.

Your human resources department recommends that you use an international mover and here are several reasons why you should follow this recommendation and rely on a professional international mover.

International movers are far more complex than domestic moves.

According to the Canadian Employee Relocation Council the top three international destinations for assignments are; Europe , Africa & The Middle East. In terms of making adjustments, the most challenging international destinations are The Middle East, Africa and Russia.

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Things to Keep While in Transit

Rick Taylor November 1, 2016 Resources, Press Release, News

Things to Keep While in Transit

According to Harvard Medical School, two of the most common causes of forgetfulness are lack of sleep and stress and anxiety.

Unfortunately, both of these factors are often present when you are planning international moves that will take you far from your comfort zone and the support systems of your friends and family.

Some things can be forgotten with nothing more than a minor inconvenience.

But at Taylor International Movers, we know how devastating it can be if certain key things are forgotten. They can derail your move, cause endless delays and make stress unbearable.

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Quality Does Matter

Rick Taylor October 20, 2016 Press Release, News, International Moving

Quality Does Matter

For Immediate Release

Taylor Moving & Storage Ltd. , a Burlington, Ont. based moving service for private and corporate clients, received two prestigious awards for its excellence in service at two recent industry conferences.

At an awards ceremony held as part of the Brookfield Supplier Partner Forum, the Ontario firm received the Platinum Award for service excellence for receiving a cumulative transferee satisfaction rating in 2015 of 100 percent.

They were one of only two Canadian firms to be honored at the event which attracts relocation industry specialists, real estate professionals and service providers from around the world.

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How to select the mover who is best for you

Rick Taylor October 17, 2016 Resources, Press Release, Events

How to select the mover who is best for you

Moving under any circumstances is stressful, but when you are uprooting yourself and your family and heading to another country, that stress is multiplied times 10.

You can ease a lot of that anxiety by ensuring that you select the mover who is best for you.

If your move is to another country, it is particularly important that you select a company such as Taylor International Moving that has experience in shipping goods across global entry points.

The best mover for you will also have established excellent relationships with points of contact along the way.

How will your goods be tracked?

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Conquering the five most common fears about moving

Rick Taylor October 4, 2016 Resources, Press Release, News

Conquering the five most common fears about moving

Next to the illness and death of a family member or the dissolution of a marriage or long-term partnership, moving is right up there on the stressors that cause most people sleepless nights and daytime attacks of angst.

By knowing that this fear is normal, that it impacts everyone, and that it will pass with coping strategies, you can alleviate it and take further steps to keep it at bay.

Here are five of the most common specific fears associated with moving and strategies to help you deal with them if they threaten your plans:

  1. Anxiety of the unknown – Sooner or later even the freest of human spirits feels the sturdy grasp of the status quo. It is the force that fills our brains with thoughts that what we are doing is ill-conceived, that we will fail, that we are hurting others by pursuing our own dreams, and that we are making a big mistake to move. It pushes us firmly to accept inertia as the compelling force of our lives.

Strategy for coping with anxiety of the unknown – Practice the lost art of self-compassion. Tell yourself you have come this far in life by having the courage to pursue your goals and dreams, and that you cannot stop now. Remind yourself that love and caring has no borders; it is not contained in a box that you move, but will escape and fly back and forth at will and stay alive if you let it. There is no failure, except in missed opportunities in life. The great thing about roads to new places is that while they go forward, they also go backwards, and returning is always an option. You deserve to explore this wide and wonderful world.

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Biggest Mistakes That Will Hinder the Success of Your Move

Rick Taylor September 23, 2016 Resources, Press Release, News

Biggest Mistakes That Will Hinder the Success of Your Move

According to the Canadian Census Bureau, about three million Canadians live beyond the borders of their country on any given year.

Many of them are away temporarily, often for work or study reasons, or to volunteer or spend a portion of their retirement years in a new environment.

At some stage of the process, all of them had to ensure that their personal belongings were packed and moved internationally.

If they are students on a short-term program, they will travel by air with one or two suitcases in tow, and the process will be relatively uncomplicated.

But for those who embark on long work terms that may even require indefinite stays, it is common that a condition of accepting the transfer is a budget to cover moving household and personal objects to their new home.

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The 5 Most Common Issues In the Moving Industry In The Summer

Rick Taylor June 3, 2016 Resources, Press Release, Events

The 5 Most Common Issues In the Moving Industry In The Summer

The moving industry is not a commodity. It is not as simple as just ordering more trucks to fill the 100% increase in business that movers will experience during the months of June, July and August.

I thought I would share the 5 areas where the moving industry as a whole tends to "fall down" during these peak months and the issues that arise beacuse of it.

1)Taking On More Work Than They Can Do:

Many movers will look to do a move that they know they will have trouble handling but do so because it is priced so well. By ignoring their own capacity or the "black out" date of their respected Van Line, they will create an enviroment that is putting all of their clients at significant risk. Extremely long transit times and/or having an inexperienced crew handle the move will create service delivery issues to their clients. In other words, it's short term "greed" knowing that they have little hope of delivering what is promised.

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Summer Capacity In The Moving Business

Rick Taylor May 30, 2016 Resources, Press Release, News

Throughout these summer months the moving industry will witness over a 100% increase in business than our normal fall/winter and spring monthly averages. It is just not possible to hire professional movers for just 3 months to fill the need let alone the equipment needed. As a result, professional movers will experience many days where they simply can't provide service to a client who has booked their move late in the process.

We at Taylor Moving try our very best not to overbook beyond our safe capacity. We do not want to do a move simply to generate revenue knowing that there is a high risk of it not being up to our standards.

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The HST and Moving Expenses

Rick Taylor May 3, 2016 Resources, Press Release, News

When an employee gets transferred within Canada the corporation can either choose to pay the move directly or simply give the employee a cash amount (i.e lump sum payment) and let them make the arrangements themselves.

One thing that should play a role in what to do is the effect of the HST on this choice.

Household goods can be a significant part of the overall relocation expense. It is not uncommon for a full household moving across the country to have an overall bill of $10,000 to $25,000.

Take for example an employee moving from Vancouver, BC to Toronto, Ontario. With cars, storage etc. lets assume a bill of $20,000. As the move is coming to Ontario the HST of 13% would equate to a cost of $2600.00.

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Cross Border Moving Options

Rick Taylor April 14, 2016 Resources, Press Release, News

Cross border moving can be tricky. A Canadian driver is not alowed to inter state in the United States (i.e move household goods within the United States) and an American driver cannot move someone domesticly within Canada. This means that they cannot pick up further customers when they are delivering/loading unless they have a customer that is also moving cross border as well. Since van line tariff's operate under a "full load" basis this means the driver has to wait longer and/or have many empty miles to fill out his truck. This leads to a much longer transit time for the customer in most cases.

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Helping Syrian Refugee's

Rick Taylor February 25, 2016 Resources, News, Local Moving

Appleby Coillege, a private school located in Oakville Ontario, pooled rsources from several firms to help sponsor a Syrian refugee family to Canada. Appleby arranged an apartment and furnishings to the new comers to Canada.

At the last minute they realized they had now way of moving the furniture into the 3 bedroom apartment even though they were scheduled to arrive in 3 days!

I am glad they called us. We sent our crew out to get this done and of course did so at no charge. We felt this is exactly the sort of initiative we want to be part of.

We have found the goodwill it creates with our community and within our staff offers real value to our firm. Even small business' like ours can be active and help in important ways.

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Retirement is Changing

Rick Taylor February 9, 2016 Resources, Press Release, News

Retirement at 65? That may be the way the world worked 30 years ago but in todays world, with people living longer and healthier lifestyles, we believe that this will be the exception and not the rule.

Taylor Moving and Storage actively recruits mature people. From sales, packing and our international services we have found that there lies a large untapped resource that greatly enhances our quality.

Many older workers don't want to work 50 hours a week but do want to continue being busy and to supplement their incomes. By being flexible, we are able to position these employee's to add additional depth to our staff. Their flexible hours allows us to "ramp up" during the busy summer season without sacrificing quality.

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Taylor's New Quality Survey

Rick Taylor July 15, 2015 Press Release, News, Overseas Moving

In 2010, Taylor Moving and Storage did a careful review of our operations and set out an agenda to drive quality improvements throughout our organization.

Our recruiting, hiring and training practices were redesigned with strong involvement from the owners of the firm. We also implemented a company wide technology platform to streamline and improved both our internal and external communications.

We are pleased to announce that we now have also introduced an electronic quality survey tool that was developed in house to assist us in measuring our quality.

48 hours after every move is complete, our system will generate an email to our clients asking them to complete the survey. Once the survey is completed, it is sent directly to Rick Taylor, one of the owners of the firm, for his review.

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Oakville Ontario Real Estate Report

Rick Taylor May 11, 2015 Resources, Press Release, News

April is historicly a busy month for real estate transactions. Coupled with May, it remains the "heart" of the spring real estate market.

April 2015 saw 316 properties sold in Oakville. This compares to 346 properties in 2014. The avearge median price increased from $715,000 in 2014 to $760,000 in 2015.

Various agents suggested it the drop in sales activity was due to a drop in inventory and not demand.

As you can see, Oakville remains a top choice for people to relocate to which has led to real estate fetching premium prices.

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Taylor International-Recent Quality Score

Rick Taylor January 16, 2014 News, Burlington, Oakville

Taylor Moving and Storage was involved with 46 international moves with this leading US Relocation Management company. This firm manages employee relocations that are international in scope on behalf of Fortune 500 companies around the world. They track very closely the quality,as measured from the relocating employee's, of the moving companies they work with to provide service.

In 2013, Taylor International effected service on 27 moves where we acted as the origin agent. The origin agent is responsible for the packing of boxes, the international wrapping of furniture, crating when needed, arranging the sea ship container or air freight and accumulating all of the customs documents. Out of a score of 5, Taylor was rated at 4.71 or 94.2% satisfaction rate. The worldwide average of this firms movers network was 4.41 or 88.2%.

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How We Are Being Rated

Rick Taylor December 12, 2013 Resources, International Moving, Employee Relocation

Taylor is in the business of employee relocation. Approximately 70% of our sales volume is derived through moving employee's household goods when they are transferred into a new city or country.

Most of these transfers occur amongst the largest corporations in the world. In some cases, these corporations may transfer upwards of 1000 employees globally as part of the worldwide human resources strategy.

Fortune 500 companies continue to outsource their employee relocation programs to outside parties in order to reduce their administartion costs to their human resources departments. In 2013, 92% of all employee relocation programs were outsourced to companies that specialize in employee relocation. These firms execute the corporation's policy in areas like travel expense, real estate disposal, work visas, destination services and of course the movement of household goods.

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We Are Growing to Serve You Better

Rick Taylor June 28, 2012 Press Release, Burlington, Oakville

In 2011, Taylor Moving and Storage invested considerable amount of financial and human captial in improving our IT platform. We are delighted with the significant improvements this has led to our communications throughout our business, both internal and external.

Our next stage is growth.

Taylor is undertaking a major $350,000 investment to add to our North American wide fleet. This will increase our capacity within the Allied Van Lines fleet to 9 registered units serving cross border and intra Canada moves.

When completed by the winter of 2013, this fleet will be one of the largest single hauling fleets in Canada within our network.

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International Assignments

Rick Taylor June 7, 2011 Press Release, Overseas Moving, Burlington

International corporate relocations froze during the recession, but that trend is now thawing.

Canadian firms are assigning employees around the globe in growing numbers, according to a Canadian Employee Relocation Council poll to be published later on Tuesday. Top five destinations are the U.S., the EU, China, Australia and South America.

The recession dramatically slowed the number of relocations as companies hunkered down and cut costs. But more firms seem now willing to pay to move their staff to foreign locations as the economy recovers and companies are under more pressure to go global.

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Entrance Fee for Canadians travelling to the U.S.

Rick Taylor March 3, 2011 News, International Moving

The Obama administration has submitted a draft budget proposal to the Congress, which includes a proposed fee of $5.50 for Canadians traveling to the USA by air and sea. According to the US Department of Homeland Security, the revenues from this charge would generate approximately additional $110 million a year. This amount is intended to financially support activities of US Customs and Border Protection’s inspection, which has intensified its activities recently.

It was confirmed that the fee would not apply to Canadians traveling to US by road.

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US/Canadian Dollars at Par - What does it mean for the moving industry?

Rick Taylor October 13, 2010 News, International Moving

As I write this, the Candian dollar and US dollar are virtually at the same level. If it stays in this range for some time, how would it effect the moving industry?

Canada and the United States are each others largest trading partners. Not only do we move goods and services across the border but people. Indeed, employee relocation to the United States from Canada and vice versa is a very important part of the moving industry.

Trucking laws prohibit Canadian drivers to interstate (i.e. perform moves within the United States) and for US drivers to do the same in Canada. As such, it is very difficult for moving companies to get effecient full loads on cross border moves. Many drivers have to go a fair distance in between stops (called empty miles) for their next pick up or delivery. This does add significant costs to the van foreman as these "empty miles" are not revenue generating.

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India

Arthur Drewry September 23, 2010 News, Overseas Moving, International Moving

Commercial vehicle movement will come to a standstill in New Delhi from 24 September, 2010, as the city prepares for the XIX Commonwealth Games which will take place from 3 – 14 October.

New Delhi authorities will regulate traffic in and around the JLN Sports Complex and other venues to help ease the massive volume of vehicles and pedestrians expected during the games.

In order to avoid any unnecessary delays, we advise you not to plan any shipment arrival between 24 September and 14 October, 2010. If a shipment during this time is unavoidable, please contact us and we will advise you on the best procedure.

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France

Arthur Drewry September 23, 2010 News, Overseas Moving, International Moving

The port of Marseille in France, has been experiencing severe traffic congestion since the 18 September. The mounting congestion is preventing the docking and unloading of containers in a timely manner at the port of Fos-sur-Mer.

Since Monday, 20 September, a number of carriers have been unable to access cargo & collect any containers from the port. This will continue until the situation improves.

Furthermore, a strike is likely to start from 1 October.

Source : AGS - France.

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Russia

Arthur Drewry September 23, 2010 News, Overseas Moving, International Moving

A new customs union between Russia, Belorussia, and Kazakhstan was adopted on July 1, 2010 introducing new customs regulations. Those new customs regulations severely restricted the type of household goods and personal effects that could be imported temporary duty-free by foreign citizens leading to a significant increase in customs duties that often far exceed the cost of the move itself.

Based on a recent meeting of Russian Customs officials, unofficial sources are discussing the possibility that the Russian government is expected to waive import customs duties for household goods shipments imported by foreign citizens on a temporary basis. An official release is expected shortly but the precise details of the decision are unknown at this time.

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