Professional moving companies are overwhelmed

“We have not seen a June like this in a number of years,” he said.

While May through September marks the peak season for the moving industry, it is not the only reason customers are facing long waits for some moving companies.

The recovery of the housing market has created more business for the industry.

“The uptick in business is predicated on the economy,” Lewis said. “We’ve had an increase in the number of home sales—that’s principally what’s driving it.”

Home sales in the Dayton area surged in May, with the number of homes sold reaching a two-year high. The Dayton Area Board of Realtors reported that 1,130 homes and condominiums were sold in the area that month, the most for a single month since the first-time homebuyer tax credit was in effect in May 2010.

But not all moving companies are seeing long waits. There’s no wait to book movers at the downtown Dayton franchise of Two Men and a Truck.

“We really are trying to get our customers in,” said Laurie Malseed, franchisee of the downtown Dayton location. “We’re looking to be able to service those who can’t be serviced by the companies that have gone out of business.”

Many moving companies went out of business after the 2008 housing market crash, and the rest of these companies were forced to make severe cutbacks, Lewis said.

“What the crash did was dramatically affect the capacity of the moving industry as a whole,” Lewis said.

“We estimate that between 20 and 30 percent of the moving companies went under between 2009 and 2011,” said Darr.

As a result, people planning to move should be as flexible as they can, Darr said.

“Make sure that you are moving in the middle of the week or the middle of the month,” she said. “If you’re flexible with your schedule, then you’re more likely to find a mover that can move you.”