Movers Watch

May is the start of the peak moving season, but the scene doesn’t look so good this time, say the movers. “We get more than 250 bookings in May, but if things keep going like this, we’ll be lucky to reach a hundred,” said Frank Rolapp, president of a moving company in Beverly Hills. He added that this year will probably see a lot of people going out of business in the moving industry.

High fuel prices are causing Moving Companies a lot of damage. Diesel has gone up by almost fifty percent at $5 a gallon, and gasoline is at $4 a gallon. House sales are down, and the real estate industry is also going through a slump, which is having an adverse effect on relocation firms. “What is happening is that not as many people are moving. They’re staying put,” said economist John Husing.
The companies are not allowed to add fuel surcharge, which is turning out to be a big problem. Companies that do only household moves are struggling even more. Some are putting off their paychecks, and some are even selling their assets to take care of them.

Sirva Inc., based outside Chicago, suffered net losses of $750 million over the past three years, and filed for bankruptcy protection last year. Says Jill Longo of Andy’s Transfer & Storage, “At a time like this, we cannot overprice due to the competition and declining business. We just hope we’ll be able to pull through.”