Movers have had to rethink how they run their businesses in the past few years. They dealt with rising costs, changing demand, and figured out how to integrate software.

Our “State of Moving and Storage 2025” report breaks down what’s actually changing in the industry, and what movers should do about it. Here are our biggest takeaways.

The Economic Impact of the Moving Industry 

According to the American Trucking Association, the moving and storage industry contributes $92.2 billion in economic activity annually. It employs over 480,000 people, generating around $13 billion in wages and $10.6 billion in taxes.

Roughly 8% of Americans (or 28 million people) move each year. But the market demand for movers slows down whenever interest rates spike or home prices climb, especially in the long-distance and residential space. 

While the industry creates jobs and supports local business, movers today are facing tighter margins, rising costs, and higher customer expectations than ever. 

Key Moving Trends for 2025 

1. Moves might be picking back up

We heard from economists Bob Costello (American Trucking Association) and Robert Dietz (National Association of Homebuilders) on where they think the housing market is going. All things considered, they’re cautiously optimistic about 2025. They’re seeing signs of steady homebuilding and a small rebound in moves after a tough couple of years. 

That optimism is showing up in how moving companies are planning for the year ahead. Nearly 40% of moving companies are doubling down on operational efficiency as their primary goal. Larger companies are using their resources to expand regionally, while smaller firms focus on improving service quality to attract local customers. 

2. There will be fewer price hikes this year

Only 29% of movers plan to raise prices in 2025,  down from 42% last year and 69% the year before. Customers are deeper in debt and spending less, so most movers know another price hike probably won’t land well.

3. Word-of-mouth dominates lead generation

Movers from 68.6% of companies we surveyed said word-of-mouth drives the highest-quality leads. Referrals rank second overall, but after that, results drop off fast. Most other channels, like social media, aren’t pulling their weight. This suggests deeper marketing problems for movers.

Industry Challenges

1. Rising costs

62.2% of surveyed movers called out rising costs (like labor, fuel, truck maintenance, claims, etc.) as their top challenge for 2025. As it stands, most movers deal with it by cutting costs and focusing on doing more with less, especially when it comes to sales.

2. It’s much harder to drive leads 

With fewer people moving and tighter budgets, movers are being forced to rethink how they get leads. Some are doubling down on referrals, others are testing new strategies, but no one’s winning by doing what everyone else is doing. The fact that word-of-mouth and referrals are the only channels that consistently work for most movers says it all.

3. It’s harder to retain skilled movers

Small moving companies are still struggling to attract and retain (skilled) movers. Most can’t compete on pay, so 81.5% of them are now allowing tips to keep their guys on board. Bigger moving companies deal with this problem by offering bonuses and incentives.  

Most moving companies use software

Approximately 95.6% of companies now use at least one type of software, with 80.7% relying on multiple software to support their operations. Key areas of focus include vehicle tracking (68.4%), accounting platforms (66.7%), and moving company software like Supermove or MoveItPro (58.8%).

‍

Most movers have their ops tools locked in, but software tools that improve customer experience, like virtual surveys, are still barely being used. That’s a big missed opportunity.

We surveyed moving company owners and operators across 139 companies

Most responses came from business owners (46.8%), followed by managers (22.3%), sales (12.2%), and office admin staff (10.8%). The companies ranged from small (under $1M in revenue) to large operations ($5M+), with fleets as small as 1–2 trucks to over 30 trucks handling more than 5,000 moves a year.

Where Do Movers Go From Here?

Moving companies are still trying to find their footing. The economy from the past few years hit them hard, so they’re focusing on doing more with less. Improving efficiency is the number one priority.

Most movers use some sort of software like Supermove to save time and streamline their operations. But efficiency alone can only get them so far. There are other big gaps, like how they bring in leads, keep good crews around, and plan to grow in the long run.

Next year won’t reward doing more of the same. It’ll reward the moving companies that slow down, be honest about what’s not working, and play more aggressively instead of just optimizing what they already have.

We got three Moving Titans together to dig into this report. You’ll hear what stood out to them, what surprised them, and what they’re actually doing in their moving companies. You can watch the whole convo here.

‍