How Long Do Moving Companies Last? Survival Data from 283 Profiled Movers

Of 283 moving companies in our database with verified founding years, the average age is 28.8 years and the median is 20 years. The oldest company in our dataset was founded in 1903, making it 123 years old.

But this number is misleading in isolation. These are companies that survived long enough to build a digital footprint: a website, Google reviews, BBB listing, or consumer complaints. They represent the survivors, not the full population.

The FMCSA registers thousands of new household goods carriers every year. Most of these registrations go quiet within a few years. Our database tracks the ones that persisted.

Breaking down the 283 profiled movers by how old they are today:

- Founded in the last 5 years (2021-2024): 8 companies (2.8%) - Founded 6-10 years ago (2016-2020): 33 companies (11.7%) - Founded 11-15 years ago (2011-2015): 42 companies (14.8%) - Founded 16-20 years ago (2006-2010): 54 companies (19.1%) - Founded 21-30 years ago (1996-2005): 55 companies (19.4%) - Founded 30+ years ago (before 1996): 91 companies (32.2%)

The largest cohort is companies founded more than 30 years ago. This is not because the 1980s and 1990s produced more movers. It is because those companies had the longest runway to build the kind of reputation (positive or negative) that gets them into our database.

Our data shows a clear pattern by era:

- Pre-1960s movers (17 companies): These are legacy operations, many of them van line agents or family businesses that have survived multiple generations. Examples include companies founded in the 1900s, 1910s, and 1920s that are still operating today.

- 1970s-1990s (72 companies): The deregulation era. The Motor Carrier Act of 1980 deregulated trucking and opened the household goods market to new entrants. Companies that survived this period tend to be established regional players.

- 2000s (71 companies): The internet era. Online reviews and lead generation changed how consumers find movers. This decade produced the most new entrants that are still operating.

- 2010s (85 companies): The largest founding decade in our dataset. These companies built their businesses on Google reviews, Yelp, and digital marketing from day one. At 6-16 years old, they are still in the proving window.

- 2020s (24 companies): The newest cohort. Too early to draw survival conclusions, but these companies launched during or after the COVID-19 pandemic moving surge.

Our data on consumer complaints, FMCSA violations, and fraud network connections shows a pattern: companies in their first 5 years of operation appear disproportionately in complaint databases and fraud investigations.

This aligns with what we see in the broader data. The FMCSA's SAFER system shows tens of thousands of registered HHG carriers, but only a fraction maintain active authority and biennial filings over time. In our database, 14,794 movers have a biennial filing due date on record, but many of these represent companies that registered, operated briefly, and went dormant.

A company that has operated for 15 or 20 years has survived economic cycles, regulatory changes, and the natural attrition that eliminates most new entrants. That persistence is itself a data signal, though not a guarantee of quality.

Years in business is one of several signals consumers should weigh when selecting a mover. A company founded in 2024 with a 5.0 Google rating and 200 reviews is a different risk profile than a company founded in 1998 with a 4.5 rating and 300 reviews.

Neither is automatically better. But longevity means the company has been operating long enough for negative experiences, if they exist, to surface in complaint databases, court records, and review platforms.

We recommend treating years in business as a trust signal alongside FMCSA authority status, crash history, complaint records, and multi-platform review analysis.

This analysis covers 283 moving companies in the Trunk database with verified year_founded values sourced from company websites, FMCSA records, BBB profiles, and direct research. The dataset exhibits survivorship bias: it captures companies that have persisted long enough to build a measurable footprint, not the full population of companies that have ever registered with FMCSA. FMCSA registration counts (26,166 movers with census dates in our directory) are used for context but not for survival rate calculations, as the census dates in our bulk import reflect sync timing rather than original registration dates.