Coronavirus and the Auto Industry

What is the Coronavirus and how do you treat it?

Unless you have been living under a rock, you’ve more than likely heard about the coronavirus. This disease is a family of viruses that can cause many kinds of sickness, such as the common cold or other more severe respiratory illnesses. It is zootonic, which means that the disease can be transmitted between humans and animals. Some common signs of the infection include respiratory symptoms, cough, fever, shortness of breath or breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, the disease can cause kidney failure, pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome or death. It is recommended that you perform regular hand washing, cover your mouth when sneezing or coughing, and thoroughly cook all animal-based products of food like eggs and meat. You should also avoid all people that may be showing symptoms of the common cold or other upper respiratory infections such as coughing and sneezing.

Travel Warnings for Ill Americans

The United States Department of State has listed various countries at different levels of caution, with level four being the highest. Only one country, China, is at that most severe level currently. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a full list of countries where travel is recommended not to occur. Some of these countries are China, Iran, Italy, South Korea, and Australia, among many others.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also issued a concern that stated anyone with a chronic medical condition should avoid Asian countries, including Japan. If you are a United States citizen residing currently in China, the United States Department of State encourages you to only depart from China by commercial means. If you are unable to do that, they request that you stay home and limit all contact with largely populated areas or public spaces, and to keep yourself stocked with all necessary supplies as much as possible.

If you were planning on traveling to any of these places in the coming months and wish to no longer leave the comfort and safety of your home, you may be entitled to insurance protection. If you booked a vacation to any of the affected locations and purchased your tickets by January 21, 2020 (January 22 at 1pm CST), then you could be eligible to file a travel insurance claim. Contact your insurance to find out if you qualify for this.

Affecting the Auto Transport Industry

You might not think that an illness such as this deadly disease can affect the auto transport industry, but it does. The disease is said to have originated in China, where the auto industry is booming. China mass produces many of the international auto industry’s vehicles and car parts. Because of the unfortunate disease affecting so many citizens of China, some auto companies have been forced to stop production for all products. The growing fear of the illness has caused a significant decrease of automobile sales in China. According to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), sales went from over fifty-nine thousand vehicles a year ago to just under five thousand vehicles in the first half of the month of February. Minimal dealerships have been opening and there has been very little customer traffic.

No traffic in car sales means less people needing to transport vehicles from China to the United States, Canada or other prominent auto transport countries. This will affect both the transport industry, as well as the auto industry as a whole. Auto transport companies could see their numbers drastically begin to change in the coming weeks, especially if majority of their transports come from China or other affected locations of the world. Loss of potential money is not something any company wants to hear about, but it is a dire subject to discuss, especially if preventable illness is the cause.