Moving and Storage
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Industry Overview
The US moving and household storage industry consists of 8,000 companies with about $13 billion in combined annual revenue. Large companies include UniGroup (owner of United and Mayflower); SIRVA (Allied and North American); Atlas; and Bekins. Despite recent consolidation, the industry is largely fragmented: the 50 largest companies hold only about 45 percent of the market.
Competitive Landscape
Home sales, residential rental turnover, and corporate relocations drive demand for moving and storage services. The profitability of individual companies depends on good marketing, as services are largely the same. Small companies can compete with large ones by offering competitive prices and better service for local moves. Large companies have economies of scale in being able to consolidate loads on long hauls. The industry is fairly labor-intensive: average annual revenue per employee is about $120,000.
Products, Operations & Technology
Companies in this industry move household and office goods, and specialty items like pianos and trade show exhibits, either locally or interstate. Moving companies also provide long- and short-term storage for the items that they move. About 45 percent of industry revenue comes from long-distance moving. Most of the companies in this industry are privately owned.
The industry is divided into three tiers. The top tier includes long-distance moves handled by a dozen large van lines like North American, Allied, Atlas, United, Mayflower, Bekins, and Wheaton, which each have annual revenues of $500 million to $1 billion. Shorter interstate moves, the second tier, are handled by about 2,000 smaller movers, who may also make long-distance moves. The third tier is local movers, thousands of small, local companies. The typical local mover has 15 employees, two to three trucks, and annual revenues less than $1 million. A large van line may have 11,000 tractors and trailers and more than 6,000 drivers.
The large van lines operate mainly through independently owned agents who, in most cases, actually own the trucks, hire the drivers, and operate locally - much in the manner of a franchise. The van lines themselves provide mainly logistical support and sell services (like moving insurance) to their agents. North American and Atlas each have 600 local agents in the US, United has 500, and Allied has 50.
Despite sophisticated computerized techniques for scheduling and planning, this industry remains a low-technology business. Many companies leverage their internal logistics expertise and shipping and tracking systems (STS) to build new lines of business, such as outsourcing logistics and delivery fleets. Long-distance companies may use GPS to track cross-country shipments.