Moving scams happen all the time. With the number of moves that occur every year . Granted, they do represent a very small percentage of the total moves every year it’s still likely that someone is being scammed right now. Unfortunately many of the scammers are never caught but recently I came across this article from Phoenix news station KPHO Channel 5 regarding an instance of catching the foes in the act and a saved consumer.
The Arizona Department of Weights and Measures in conjunction with authorities in Kennewick Washington foiled a scam involving three different moving companies working together to pull a scam involving hidden charges and other violations. Of course there was a moving broker involved which doesn’t surprise any of us here as you know we feel about them (check our article on moving brokers and tips for hiring a mover).
We enjoy giving our readers green moving info because we understand the importance of the movement. I found this article on Mother Nature Network (MNN) about residential movers finding ways to go green which discusses some of the most recent trends the moving industry is experiencing in their push to be more green.
While trucks are slowly getting cleaner and more efficient the biggest change is the push for reducing the enviromental impact of the packing process. Rental and used cardboard boxes have been around for a while and can sometimes be found from local movers and from companies like Ecobox which focus primarily within their local service area. Several new “buy and sell” moving box websites such as usedcardboardboxes.com, boxcycle.com and freecardboardboxes.com have popped up lately and some are easier to use and offer more than others with regards to services and ease of use.
Beyond that are companies such as Earth Friendly Moving in the Los Angeles and Orange County Area and Frogbox in the Seattle and Vancouver areas which offer rental plastic bins. These bins can be used hundreds of times before going to a landfill instead of being used once and then contributing directly to the estimated 18% to 26% of landfill space that cardboard and paper consume. Earth Friendly moving also makes their boxes entirely from 100% recycled plastic and offers a variety of recycled products including packing peanuts, paper, bags and other moving supplies. In addition to being green these products provide a competitively priced alternative to traditional packing supplies.
In speaking with moving companies over the past several years it has been made very obvious that times have not been good them. Although that’s no surprise, the most recent edition of the quarterly publication Industry Trends put out by the American Moving and Storage Association (AMSA) reveals exactly how tough it has been.
According to their research the number of shipments from individuals (COD) is down a significant 26% from 2004. It probably needn’t be said that the factors believed to have the greatest affect on the industry are the housing and jobs markets.
The rust belt and interestingly the Los Angeles area have been most affected and had the highest percentage of outbound versus inbound moves. Conversely southern areas from east to west, and primarily North Carolina, generated the most interest and had the greatest percentage of inbound moves.
It’s no surprise that the trends of the moving industry mimic the greater trends of the US economy but it is an interesting indication of the cascading effects of the market meltdown. However there is one last slightly more positive trend that average shipment size continued to see an increase. So even though money is tight people continue to accumulate possessions.
The housing bust, mortgage crisis and financial meltdown have affected everyone. In this newstimes.com article about the International Association of Movers Conference in Florida moving companies discuss their battle through the slow times yet are optimistic about the future. The big stat that’s is the 30% decline in year-over-year decline in non-corporate relocation. That’s a pretty big hit. Their are few positive signs beginning to appear for the housing market and a turn around would greatly improve their outlook even further.
What this means for individuals and families moving is that not only is there a greater likelihood that movers will be available on your preferred moving dates and you may also have an advantage to negotiate bigger discounts or included services.
Lifehacker recently published an article on One Simple Move – it’s always nice when somebody gives you a pat on the back. Naturally, we’ve been fans of lifehacker for some time:
One Simple Move on Lifehacker
Lifehacker is a blog dedicated to tips and downloads for getting things done, and was included in TIME’s 25 best blogs of 2009 Check them out here:
www.lifehacker.com
This week, one of the first diesel-hybrid moving trucks was picked up by an Atlas Van Lines agent. Under 30mph, the truck uses a combo of diesel and electricity. The truck will be going up and down from New York to Boston this moving season, so stay on the look-out if you’re on the east coast!
Check out this clip on moving scams and what to watch out for, from NBC’s Today Show:
You know moving season is coming up when Matt Lauer is telling you to be careful when shopping for a mover!
(Note on Matt Lauer’s arm: According to US Magazine, Matt flipped over the handlebars of his motorcycle when a deer ran out in to the street – just in case you were wondering…)
