English: A moving company, removalist or van line is a company that helps people and businesses move their goods from one place to another. It offers all inclusive services for relocations like packing, loading, moving, unloading, unpacking, arranging of items to be shifted. Additional services may include cleaning of the place and warehousing facilities.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 40 million United States citizens have moved annually over the last decade. Of those people who have moved in the United States, 84.5% of them have moved within their own state, 12.5% have moved to another state, and 2.3% have moved to another country.

In the U.S. and Canada, the cost for long-distance moves is typically determined by the weight of the items to be moved, the distance, how quickly the items are to be moved, and the time of the year or month which the move occurs. In the United Kingdom and Australia, the price is based on the volume of the items rather than their weight. Some movers may offer flat rate pricing.

The use of truck rental services, or simply borrowing similar hardware, is referred to as DIY moving. Typically, the parties who're moving borrow or rent a truck or trailer large enough to carry their household goods and, if necessary, obtain moving equipment such as dollies, furniture pads, and cargo belts to protect the furniture or to facilitate the moving process itself.

Use of Boxes and Related Items

The moving process also involves finding or buying materials such as boxes, paper, tape, and bubble wrap with which to pack boxable and/or protect fragile household goods, and to consolidate the carrying and stacking on moving day. Self-service moving companies offer another viable option: the person moving buys space on one or more trailers or shipping containers. These containers are then driven by professionals to the new location.

Several types of boxes are used in this process.

• A corrugated box is a shipping container made of corrugated fiberboard. These are the most commonly used cheap moving boxes in order to transport and warehouse products during distribution, and are rated according to the strength of the material or the capacity of the finished box.

• A folding carton (sometimes called a box) is fabricated from paperboard. The paperboard is printed (if necessary), die-cut and scored to form a blank. These are transported and stored flat, and erected at the point of filling. These are used to package a wide range of goods, intended either for one-time (non-resealable) use or as a storage box for the remaining goods.

• A "set up" box (or rigid paperboard box) is made of stiffer paperboard, permanently glued together with paper skins that can be printed or colored. Unlike folding cartons, these are assembled at the point of manufacture and transported already "set-up". Set-up boxes are more expensive than folding boxes and are typically used for protecting high value items such as cosmetics, watches or smaller consumer electronics.

• A crate is a heavy duty shipping container originally made of wood. Crates are distinct from wooden boxes, also used as heavy duty shipping containers. For a wooden container to be a crate, all six of its sides must be put in place to result in the rated strength of the container. The strength of a wooden box, on the other hand, is rated based on the weight it can carry before the top or opening is installed.

• A bulk box is a large box often used in industrial environments. It is sized to fit well on a pallet.