While data provides some hope that the moving industry has reached a bottom, it also suggests that the recovery will be a slow and mild one
, according to the American Moving & Storage Association.

"Although shipments overall remain significantly below historical levels, we saw much less of a reduction in shipment volumes in June, which in turn was less than the declines during the first five months of the year," said Linda Bauer Darr, AMSA president and CEO. "In fact, shipments by our members for non-Defense Department moves for the federal government were actually up 14 percent from June 2008."

According to the summer issue of AMSA's Industry Trends, which covers the U.S. moving and storage sector, the drop in the average shipment weight since its peak in 2006 has been the greatest for individual household goods moves and for non-defense federal government personnel (GSA) moves. The weight decline in the GSA segment may be caused by "split moves," when one spouse does not immediately join the other in their new location, which may happen when they are unable to sell their house or find a new job due to the economy.

Published quarterly, Industry Trends provides an overview of current trends and business activity within the sector, and offers data on shipment volume, both aggregate and regional; demand factors; timing; inbound/outbound data; and market-specific trends and outlooks. Industry data is based on information submitted confidentially to AMSA by its member companies.