Thursday, March 1, 2018

Cost of Household Goods shipments going up

Government regulations and driver shortage will be the key factors in the cost of shipping household goods to the consumer and to corporations.  

New government regulations centered around improved safety will increase the cost of moving interstate.  The initiatives are designed to improve highway safety  by reducing crashes, injuries, and fatalities.  The main factors are:
- Driver fitness
- Vehicle Maintenance
- Drug Testing
- Crash indicators
- Hours of Service
- Electronic Logging Device (ELD)

The two highlighted areas are the ones that will most impact the cost of moving.  Hours of Services which are now more restrictive will negatively impact driver productivity the most.  Federal regulations have "mandated" the installation of ELDs in all motor transportation units with the first compliance date of 12/17/17 to insure driver compliance and truck operation compliance.
 
 The other major factor facing the household goods industry is the reduced number of qualified drivers effecting Van Line operator capacity during peak periods.  This simple supply and demand factor will dictate higher costs particularly during the late spring and summer months when most of the relocation activity takes place.  According the most recent ATA Driver Shortage Analysis the U.S. is short 100,000 truck drivers; a number expected to be 160,000 by 2025.







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