RELO Roundtable…a gathering place

On January 29, 2013, Secretary Ray LaHood announced to the employees of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) that after serving for four years in President Obama’s Cabinet, he would not be staying on for the second term.  The high energy, often outspoken, but very charismatic Transportation Secretary was a former Republican congressman from Peoria.  [...]

The United States Department of Transportation's (DOT) Office of Inspector General (OIG) was established in 1978 to provide the Secretary of Transportation and Congress with independent and objective reviews of the efficiency and effectiveness of DOT operations and programs and to detect and prevent fraud, waste, and abuse. The OIG's Office of Investigations is comprised [...]

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) recently called on the Federal Department of Transportation (DOT) to conduct an investigation into the dramatic increase in low bridge strikes by commercial trucks across New York State, and issue nation-wide standards for Global Positioning System (GPS) devices in trucks.  As part of his call to action, Schumer sent [...]

Stumbled across this valuable Broker vs. Mover? consumer information by accident while searching the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) website trying to help an distraught visitor who feels her family is being ripped off by the move brokerage company they hired online.  It's buried under the Are you Moving? button in the How to [...]

There is more to consider than just price! Don’t become a victim of moving fraud. FMCSA 12-12 Wednesday, May 23, 2012 Contact: Shashunga Clayton Tel.: (202) 366-9999 FMCSA Helps Consumers "Protect Your Move" with Moving Company Checklist that offers helpful tips during busiest moving season of the year WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of [...]

Responding to a petition filed by the American Moving and Storage Association and comments submitted by industry consultants from the Moving Pros Network, the Surface Transportation Board announced on March 8, 2012, that it had agreed to postpone the implementation date on a congressional directive to enhance consumer protection when loss or damage occurs during [...]

Hey movers! In case you haven't noticed, there's an elephant in your front room. And that big pink pachyderm sitting on top of your industry interests is squishing the profitability out of your business. What's worse is that he's got a whole lot of relatives standing in line waiting to invade the same shrinking piece [...]

On January 10, 2012, the Surface Transportation Board (STB), the successor agency to the Interstate Commerce Commission housed within the U.S. Department of Transportation, made three (3) major changes in the way that shipment valuation will apply when licensed household goods carriers transport interstate shipments for individual (COD) shippers. The STB ruling clarified a earlier [...]

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood surprised the entire transportation industry today by sticking a large piece of coal into each trucker's Christmas stocking – especially irregular route, full-service movers.   With so many members of the seasonally affected moving and storage industry taking time off to enjoy the holidays, it would behoove those managers still [...]

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) just launched a newly designed website to help consumers protect themselves from fraudulent or unscrupulous interstate household goods moving companies. Different format; same content. The announcement comes two and a half months after the start of the relocation industry's traditional summer peak moving season. [...]