The state of the professional household goods moving and storage industry remains unsettled as a few crucial disruptions prevail the market.
The American Moving and Storage Association reports that there has been a decline in each of the three major categories of moves: COD (cash on delivery) – 0.1%; Corporate moves – 2.0 %; Military moves – 8.5%.
![Robots as movers - a robot picking up a box](https://www.mymovingreviews.com/move/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/labor-shortage.jpg)
Although the sales of new homes have increased by 36% and the sales of existing homes have increased by 12% from 2012 to 2015, there hasn’t been any compelling increase in the number of shipments since before the housing crisis hit.
Apparently, more Americans are moving into new homes or from one home to another, but the number who are hiring a professional mover is not increasing at the same rate. It turns out that people are choosing a less than full service move from a non-traditional moving company. To stand out, professional movers need to fight the mentality of household goods being considered a general commodity.
What is good for the Economy is not good for movers
According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the US economy is expected to continue growing steadily. The price of diesel fuels is about half of what it was just two years ago. It’s down to about $2 per gallon. The U.S. unemployment rate is back below 5% (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
However, the good news for the overall economy pose a challenge for movers who are already struggling to find labor. AMSA’S CEO Scott Michael reports that finding good labor is at the top of movers’ problems. As there are too many other businesses out there who are hiring labor, it’s difficult to find people who are willing to do the back-breaking work of being a mover. “Long distance driver” seems to be a less attractive position in today’s job market. To be sustainable, movers need to find a way to increase their revenues so that they can afford to pay their workers higher compensations.
Good article but need to update now
We can put a man on the moon, but can’t seem to ship valuable personal items across town (much less the country) with breaking or losing them. The moving industry needs to get a grip that customers have personal goods that matter to them that the customer worked long/hard hours to pay for. Having a gorilla toss valuables in a truck a and have their hiring company compensate nothing is hardly a recipe for success.