The New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs has begun cracking down on unlicensed movers -- hard. Earlier this month, the division sent investigators out to do a two-day sting operation in order to catch movers who were operating without a state license. While the initial sting uncovered 18 unlicensed vehicles, closer scrutiny showed that more than 30 moving companies were operating without licenses. [More]

The American Moving and Storage Association reported today that Americans were shipping 4.2 percent more household goods during the first five months of this year than during the same period in 2009. (AMSA is a storage and moving trade association, and puts consumers in touch with professional movers through its Mover Referral Service.) When AMSA looked only at items shipped by consumers, the shipments were up by 11.2 percent. During 2008 and 2009, shipping dropped dramatically, by 21.5 percent in 2009 and 18.2 percent in 2008.

The statistics suggest that more Americans are moving from one home to another again, which means that the housing market may start to pick up. Relocation tends to stimulate consumer spending in general, because people who are moving spend more money on take-out food, renovations, and household items for the new home. [More]

Minnesota residents whose homes were damaged or destroyed by yesterday’s tornadoes may be eager to start the process of cleaning up, repairing, rebuilding, or in some cases, starting over. Some might like to go through their homes in order to salvage and store whatever possessions they can in self storage facilities, hopefully before tornado-damaged roofs begin to leak and water damage sets in. But officials say that it is not safe to begin the cleanup and recovery process yet. [More]

People who have made the decision to relocate to another city in search of work, but who have not yet made a decision about where to relocate, may want to consult Mint.com’s list of the 10 cities that are forecast to have the most job growth by the year 2030. Another good list to consult is Mint.com’s list of the top ten cities for annual job growth. The only city to appear on both lists is Las Vegas. [More]

In 2005, Congress established BRAC, the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission, to make recommendations about the future of military bases all over the United States. BRAC's job was to evaluate the future needs of the Department of Defense, weighing the military value of bases against the human impact of changes that might be made. Having done that, the Commission made its recommendations.

Most of the recommendations made by BRAC are scheduled to be completed by late fall 2011. In some cases, the process of reorganizing the bases has already begun. In many communities, though, the changes are just beginning. Some communities, such as the Washington D.C. area, will experience a fairly massive relocation of military employees and their families. [More]

A marina in Freeport, Texas, will have to move part of its drystack boat storage facility, because the storage building sticks out onto land that has been earmarked for use by the state highway department. The boat storage building encroaches 22 feet onto land that will be used to construct the new Pine Street bridge. Freeport will have to spend $347,510 to move the offending section of the building.

Although the move will be expensive, members of the Freeport Economic Development Corporation (FEDC) were pleased with the estimate, saying that it would cost about $100,000 less than they expected. Despite their pleasure at the lower estimate, FEDC members are still not certain how they will pay for the relocation. [More]

The average cost for a family to relocate from one part of the United States to another can vary from $18,355 to $76,600, according to Worldwide ERC, an association dedicated to workforce mobility. (Worldwide ERC last gathered these statistics in 2007 -- the cost of relocation today may be even higher.) Before the recession set in, it was becoming common for companies asking employees to relocate to pick up the tab, whether they were asking current employees to move or hiring new employees from out of town or out of state. But now, according to a recent MSNBC report, fewer companies are offering relocation assistance to pay for expenses ranging from moving and storage to selling a house and/or making an extra trip across the country to look for housing. [More]

About 15 percent of mid- to senior-level job seekers across the United States relocate to another part of the country for a new job, according to a survey released by Right Management, a division of Manpower Inc., in late February. Job seekers who relocate, especially people in mid- to upper-level management jobs, are likely to need assistance with their moves from moving, self-storage, and relocation services companies. [More]

CORT, a Berkshire Hathaway company providing relocation services throughout the United States and more than 50 other countries, has announced that it has added a new partner, SC Rentamuebles, which is based in Bogota, Colombia. CORT was responding to a growing demand for furniture rentals in Bogota, a thriving city of eight million which has grown to include many branch offices for multinational corporations.

For nearly 40 years, CORT has been providing rental furniture to corporate employees who have been temporarily relocated. It has partners in more than 50 countries. SC Rentamuebles is a family-run business founded 13 years ago by Susana Camacho. Now the company has 18 employees and is run by Camacho's daughter, Paula Santamaria. SC Rentamuebles brings many clients of its own to the partnership, including multinational companies, embassies, and film industry clients (for which it provides by-the-day furniture leases for temporary film sets). SC Rentamuebles can provide its clients with indoor and outdoor furniture, appliances, kitchenware, linens, and other accessories. [More]

Worldwide ERC, the Workforce Mobility Association, is planning its annual national conference, to take place May 19 - 21, at Walt Disney World Dolphin in Orlando, Florida. The meeting is an opportunity for business leaders who work in fields related to relocation to network with each other, and share ideas and solutions. It is also an opportunity for suppliers, such as self-storage facilities, to provide exhibits that can introduce business leaders to the self-storage resources that are available to relocating employees, and to present the idea that self-storage can be a viable solution for employees who are relocating to cities with a higher cost of living.

The National Relocation Conference will include several optional programs, including one on the fundamentals of U.S. domestic relocation, for newcomers to the relocation profession and for other professionals who would like to have a more comprehensive understanding of the relocation process. [More]