Industry Trends Issue 1, 2014 - 11

REPORT 9

spotlight on military

O

ur spotlight sector in 2013 is the military
market, which has seen a significant decline
over the past year. We last looked at this sector
three years ago, as the industry was preparing
for the conclusion of the last round of base closures. While
the Pentagon and the President are urging Congress to
approve another round of base closures, Congress has
steadfastly refused to agree to any more infrastructure cuts.
This has not shielded the military from budget cuts,
starting with so called "sequestration" that have cut the
overall defense budget significantly. The overall impact over
ten years could amount to a half trillion dollars in defense
cuts. This will reduce the size of the Army and lead to fewer
moves. As noted on page 2 above, military shipments were
down 11.5% in 2013, and have continued to decline in 2014.
These military shipments, even more than other moves,
occur during the summer peak season, especially in June.

The table at right shows the distribution of moves in 2013,
looking just at the 177,000 domestic moves reported by the
Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command
(SDDC). The end of the year was particularly slow, with
November and December shipments significantly less than
even February.
The military moves that occur during the summer peak
season are also very different from the moves the rest of the
year, with far more heavy shipments in the summer. The
military divides the year into four performance periods
starting January 1, May 15, August 1, and October 1. During
the peak of the summer (PP2), only 5.7% of moves weigh
less than 1,000 pounds, compared to more than 10% the rest
of the year. Conversely, there are significantly more heavy
moves in the summer, as more families move after the school
year. Average weight in the summer last year was 7,700
pounds versus 5,500 pounds in the other months.

Shipments by Month

Percent of Shipments by Weight
14%

Jan
Feb

12%

Mar
10%

Apr
May

8%

Jun
6%

Jul
Aug

4%

Sep
2%

Oct
Nov

0%

9

9

Source: SDDC Shipment Records

9,
000
9,

6,

00

0-

6,

99

99

99
3,
000
3,

30,000

00

25,000

,0

20,000

<1

5,000
10,000
15,000
0
Source: SDDC Shipment Records

9

Dec

1st PP

3rd PP

2nd PP

4th PP

2014, Vol. 1 » INDUSTRY TRENDS

11
Industry Trends Issue 1, 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Industry Trends Issue 1, 2014
