moving and storage company

A moving company, removalist or van line is a company that helps people and businesses relocate their goods from one place to another. Typically they use moving vans, but for international moves or where storage is required they may use special containerised vans or shipping containers.

National companies are typically organized with local branches or affiliated agents. That affiliation may be in the form of a franchise, wherein the local agent is a franchise of a national company, or a cooperative, wherein the local agent owns a share of the national company. There are also many small independent moving companies who operate within any given local area. has been setting the standards for local moving
companies since our founding in 1977. In the United States all legitimate moving companies must be licensed with the Federal Highway Administration and / or their State Commerce Commission.

Household removals require careful wrapping and packing to avoid damage to furniture and effects, so many household policies do not cover goods in transit unless they are being packed, carried and unpacked by a professional remover. In the moving industry, when a customer packs and unpacks his own boxes it is referred to as PBO (packed by owner) and policies do not insure these goods. On PBO moves it can become a point of huge contention between the mover and the customer as to who is at fault regarding damaged items within a box. Was it packed improperly by the customer or did the mover mishandle the box?

There are also companies who specialise in facilitating self-removals, u-haul being a notable US example. Chicago Moving and Storage - Golan's.