Research notes from the federal record. House rule: every post contains at least one figure that did not exist on the internet before we published it — with the method underneath.
Of the 1,850 interstate household goods movers holding a federal safety rating, the median rating was issued 18 years ago — and 78.3% are a decade old or more.
16 August 20264,636 of 19,524 licensed interstate movers — 23.7% — trade under a name different from the legal entity holding their federal authority.
16 August 202645.1% of licensed interstate household goods movers first registered within the last five years; a quarter are two years old or younger. The industry's churn, measured.
16 August 2026North Dakota and Wyoming lead America in licensed interstate movers per resident; Hawaii has the fewest. The full per-capita league table, computed from federal data.
16 August 2026The published ocean tariff prices the same container at $7,070 westbound and $4,238 eastbound — a 40% asymmetry almost nobody mentions.
16 August 2026The median licensed interstate mover operates exactly 2 trucks, and 64.2% run one or two. What the industry's true shape means for your move.
16 August 2026In San Diego, one large mover fails vehicle inspections at 47% and another at 7% — a sevenfold spread invisible in any citywide average. Per-carrier records are the only ones that matter.
16 August 2026The federal record holds 8,624 reportable crashes for licensed household goods movers — 285 deaths, 3,960 injuries. How to read crash counts honestly.
16 August 2026Extra weight, access problems, moving-day packing, and storage-in-transit — the four places interstate moving bills grow, and the questions that pin each one down in advance.
16 August 2026In Louisiana, 65% of licensed interstate movers have never had a roadside inspection; Virginia, Ohio, Florida and Texas follow. The state-by-state oversight gap, measured.
16 August 2026