Moving industry

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Packing & Moving Household Goods

The moving industry is part of the tertiary sector of industry, commonly know as the service sector.

More accurately, it is the moving and storage industry, as the two are almost always paired together. The moving and storage Industry includes van lines, agents, independent movers, forwarders, international movers, auto transporters, suppliers and others. ^[1]

A major part of the industry are moving companies providing household goods packing, moving and storage services within any given state or country. In some countries, such companies are referred to as a removalists. Long distance moving companies provide interstate, intrastate and citywide moving services while local movers provide only intrastate moves or moves within the same city area. Professional household goods mover's trucks in the United States are regulated by the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) and if the mover's services are conducted crossing state lines they must be licensed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Professional movers are also under the jurisdiction of their home office's state Commerce Commission.

Embedded within the moving industry are the services of truck / trailer / moving equipment rental companies and companies selling moving supplies for people who want to pack and move themselves. Then they use a professional mover to load a moving van, drive it to the new residence and then unload it there. Rental companies usually offer some training information for DIY movers who will be using their rental trucks, trailers or equipment to relocate themselves.

Some people obtain packing supplies with which to pack their household goods themselves in order to keep their moving costs down. A good source for free boxes is local grocery stores. These folks are called PBO's (packed by owner) by their movers. Because they are not trained to properly pack their things, damages are more prevalent with their shipments and invariably they become disputable after the move. This is a major problem within the industry.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 40 million people have moved annually over the last decade.^[2]