More consolidation in the movin' business: Suddath acquires City

More consolidation in the movin’ business: Suddath acquires City

Signaling even yet more contraction within the struggling $14 billion household goods moving industry, The Suddath Companies, a privately owned group of well diversified domestic and international transportation service and relocation move management companies based in Jacksonville, Florida, just announced the acquisition of City Moving Systems. The 105 year-old City is a women owned business based in Kent, Washington.

This is the second competitor within the United Van Lines network of moving and storage agents that the Suddath executive management team has purchased in 2011. In January, they successfully completed the acquisition of Barrett Moving and Storage – another family-owned company based in Wisconsin that they had been negotiating with since early last year.

Prior to this latest announcement, Suddath, which specializes in the worldwide household goods relocation, global mobility, commercial moving, warehousing, logistics management, trade shows, exhibit displays and other special moving services, operated 19 full-service moving and storage companies in 12 states nationwide.

Adding City to its portfolio means that Suddath now has a significant coast-to-coast industry presence in all quadrants of the U.S. This type of transportation service network established in major markets around the periphery of he country is somewhat similar to the once popular “warehouse” divisions that were supported and maintained by large national van lines in the 1980's and '90s.

As an approved carrier for both the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and General Services Administration (GSA), Suddath relocates more than 35,000 military and government personnel worldwide each year.

Valued at more than $350 million, this latest acquisition makes The Suddath Companies, one of United Van Lines most successful domestic and international commercial and military agents, larger than most of the well recognized national van line competitors within the domestic household goods moving industry.

Recently Indianapolis based Wheaton World Wide Moving, the sixth largest household goods carrier and the largest employee owned domestic mover in the U.S, negotiated to purchase Bekins Van Lines, a competitor based in Chicago.

To learn more about The Suddath Companies, visit www.suddath.com

Continued consolidation in the moving industry? – RELO Roundtable

Wheaton World Wide Moving to acquire Bekins Van Lines – RELO Roundtable

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