Are Traditional Movers a Thing of the Past?

Hidden deep in the Olympic National Forest, I came upon this relic of a moving truck. I wonder whether the truck was left there because the driver and crews went on an extended lunch break of 60 years?

With the downturn in the economy and the advent of alternative moving services, some have wondered whether the traditional moving industry is a thing of the past.

My answer is sort of. Every day I read of local agents going out of business. Consolidation and reorganization of van lines is common place.

But what will come out of this transition is hopefully a more robust, up-to-date service from the survivors. In order to survive, the best companies will take this downturn as an opportunity to re-evaluate their service offerings and process to provide even more customer-focused moving solutions.

Self move and containerized storage is in some instances a fine solution for those that are willing to carry heavy sofas down stairs and into fancy painted containers with names that roll of the tongue like "Joe", "Bean Sprout" (can't use their actual names or I will get sued).

Two facts come to mind when pundits announce the demise of the moving industry.

1. Our society is aging. I can speak with some experience that once you get a birthday card from AARP, the last thing on your mind is to move yourself. Mature adults need movers, full service movers.

2. Containerized moving can actually be more expensive than a professional mover. There is no slight of hand manipulation of a cost analysis here. Check it out. In a number of different senarios, a professional mover will cost less than having a container shipped across the country. Much of it has to do with the efficiency of a mover. Professional movers can consolidate several customer's shipments on one truck. They can also load a shipment more densely. This allows more to be moved with less. Less fuel, less trucks. More green. Hmmm.... cheaper? Someone else that knows what they are doing loads my truck?

So the next time that you consider a moving company or container for rent for your next move, just remember, new isn't always better, and don't fix what isn't broken.

Brad Fransen is the Director of Sales and Marketing for Continental Van Lines, agent for Mayflower Transit in Seattle and Tacoma, and United Van Lines in Anchorage Alaska.