I hope you all are doing well and enjoying the spring season. I know it has been dark and rainy here in Greater Cincinnati, but the sun is still shining above those clouds and I have heard it is planning a guest appearance soon.
I had a great oppurtunity to attend the Atlas Forum on moving this April in Chicago. It was an awesome time; we learned about general updates in the relocation industry and specifically what is new in household goods moving.
Capitol Hill is considering making all relocation household goods (HHG) moves taxable as a way to increase tax revenue and reduce the deficit. For example, right now if a HHG move meets the IRS time and distance tests, the movement of HHG and the first 30 days of storage are not taxable. If this were to change it would have a significant impact on relocation budgets, a move that currently cost $15,000 would increase to an estimated $22,500.
Currently, this is just a topic of discussion, but if this idea grows legs ERC is already prepared to address Capitol Hill and fight against it. I doubt this change would ever get passed but it is nice to know that ERC is ahead of the issue.
During the meeting in Chicago they shared the changes in relocation volume 2010 vs. 2009 as reported by the Employee Relocation Council (ERC):
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Government Relocations were down by -4.6%
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National Account Corporate Relocations were up by 10.2%
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COD Relocations were up by 5.6%
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Military Relocations were down by -1.6%
I was very happy to hear that effective February 2011 all agents of Atlas Van Lines are members of the American Moving and Storage Association (AMSA). This organization promotes consumer protection and moving company professional standards; this benefits us all by raising the bar on service we receive. AMSA also created the ProMover Certification Program, which an AMSA member can earn if they meet the criteria. This makes it easy for consumers to indentify moving companies that meet their high standards.
All of the moving companies that serve your transferees through Sibcy Cline Relocation Services are members of the AMSA and are also ProMovers! To learn more, click here.
Relocation Budgets for 2011
Atlas surveyed 408 of their corporate customers and they reported the following results:
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27% reported their would be an increase in their budgets
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60% reported that there would be no change
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13% reported that there would be a decrease in their budgets
I hope you enjoyed these updates as much as I enjoyed writing about them. It is a pleasure to serve you and your transferees; we value the partnership and appreciate the business.
John Morabito
