How much should a local move cost? That is the million-dollar question.

Every single household is furnished. Differently, we move librarians with mountains of books, families with garages full of toys, and people who live with nothing but a chair and a TV.

This is why the average cost of movers is so varied.

Every move is individual in its needs and requirements; even when you are only moving around the corner, it’s as unique as you are.

That is why we like to come out and carry out a removal survey & provide a free, no-obligation quotation for our moving services.

The cost of movers has also increased for various reasons beyond anyone’s control.

Without a doubt, Brexit and Covid-19 have hurt the cost of moving house in 2022.

So what is the average cost of movers for moving locally now?

During the first and subsequent lockdowns, online shopping went through the roof. So many people who may never have ordered online now have no choice. With shops closed and high streets empty, the only place to buy anything was the wonders of the internet and online shopping. Due to the massive increase in online orders, the amount of cardboard used increased exponentially. So much so that we suffered from a cardboard shortage in November 2020, when Amazon bought all the cardboard in time for Christmas.

Since then, cardboard and paper prices have been high, with shortages still reported in 2022. This has meant our cost to buy the best packing material has increased significantly as we fight in a market dominated by HUGE companies such as Amazon and large chain supermarkets. 

It’s not just the price of our boxes that has increased. Other materials, such as sofa and mattress protectors, bubble wrap, packing paper etc., have seen a significant cost increase due to the above.

The supply chains could be a factor in this, but the cost of living, in general, has gone up post-pandemic; think of your weekly shopping cost or even the old Freddo comparison(We still cannot believe they used to be only £0.10). Therefore it makes sense that the cost of movers would also increase.

In 2020, the fuel cost was down at £1.12 per litre, although it seems to have settled; for weeks on end, we saw prices upwards of £2.00 per litre, almost double what we were paying for only two years ago. This is nearly a 100% increase in fuel costs, even travelling only a few miles to move locally; it has significantly impacted how we structure moving costs and build out our quotations.

We do have an electric charging point at our HQ. We are exploring electric or hybrid vehicles, but the UK & European infrastructure is not yet ready for local or long-distance moving companies.

As of April 2023, the national minimum wage and the national living wage are set to increase again by a significant percentage; as a fair wage employer, we try to strive to pay our staff the living wage, and this has a substantial impact on the cost of the removal crew that would be moving your home, meaning the average price of movers is being increased from various parts and considerations in your moving process.

Not only is the government increase having an effect, but due to a global HGV driver shortage, the supply and demand of HGV drivers are at an all low for supply and high demand. This means many HGV drivers are being offered large sums of money to move jobs/careers. To retain our highly skilled and quality HGV removal drivers, we have also had to increase our pay structure to fight off demand from other industries.

Before our purpose-built removal trucks leave the yard, we also have the cost of gas and electricity to heat our offices and keep our office staff warm and happy to be able to deal with your enquiry. As you will likely have seen all over the news, this has had a substantial commercial impact and a massive surge in our cost to allow us to employ, retain, and keep our fantastic office team warm.

So hopefully, you can see how the cost of movers and the cost of your move may be more than your expectations when all things are considered as a cost to be able to have the very best staff, equipment and vehicles booked for your removal to look after your worldly possessions and turn up at your door on moving day.

The cost of movers is also impacted by the volume of effects you have, the size of your property and access you have or may not have to your front door.

No 2-bedroom property is the same; flats, houses, bungalows, and apartments all come with different move plans. Therefore we always recommend a survey visit or at least a video survey to allow us to survey your property individually.

Video surveys can be an easy and convenient way to obtain an accurate quotation without taking a day off work; ask our team about video surveys here.

We will often get asked for a ‘budget cost’ or a ‘ballpark figure’, but hopefully, you can see how almost impossible that is with all the factors we have covered in our blog post.

The cost of movers worldwide has increased due to many factors beyond our control. Still, we will always attempt to remain competitive in the marketplace and, most notably for you, ensure we deliver incredible value for money.

If you want to know the cost of your move, you can contact us today for a free, no-obligation quote, and we will arrange a survey at a convenient time.