Jul 23, 2021
— Notes and slides from the 22 July Peak Season Call. DoD is begging industry to communicate with the member and PPSO when a TSP can’t get an agent under a shipment. The earlier the member and JPPSO know, the more effective the DoD can be in helping arrange alternatives for the member…extended reporting dates, changes to leases or closing dates on homes (at origin and destination), actual cost reimbursement for a PPM. When that doesn’t happen, it’s often costing the member significant out of pocket expenses. And as anyone who has PCS’d knows, service members already face a wave of out of pocket expenses each time they move to a new duty station.
Jul 15, 2021
— Notes and slides from the 15 July Peak Season Call highlight a few common themes from industry and DoD. Another good job by many industry representatives to provide comments and raise issues/perspectives/potential actions. DoD received plenty of feedback today on the challenges facing the industry. JPPSOs are still imploring industry reps to be transparent on their ability to service a shipment and communicate with the member and JPPSO on those challenges so other potential solutions can be worked, and members can know what they are facing and make appropriate arrangements with regard to their lease, home sale, new duty assignment, etc.
Jul 13, 2021
— The 13 July USTRANSCOM Conditions Based Movement call covered the industry call readaheads presented by USTRANSCOM and the associated notes from the call.
Jul 8, 2021
— Today’s Peak Season Call continued with the themes of many of the previous week’s meetings. DoD is frustrated over late turnbacks of shipments and continue to urge industry to not accept shipments they can’t service…and when you find yourself in that situation, please communicate immediately with the customer and the personal property shipping office. Don’t delay. Good job on today’s call by many industry representatives to provide comments and raise issues/perspectives/potential actions. Please see the notes and slides from the call.
Jul 8, 2021
— Many of the same themes came out today from the DoD side as in previous weeks. Turnbacks, no-shows, and a need for more communication from industry as soon as possible when you might be having trouble getting a shipment serviced. Please remember the military member and the stress of getting out of their house/apartment per their contract; missing a flight to their next assignment, etc. I know this group fully understands that because you’re professionals, but that’s the theme of the call, and I wanted to pass that along. Please see notes and slides from the call.
Jul 8, 2021
— According to Reuters, the Biden Administration plans to issue an Executive Order (EO) in the next few days that will direct both the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) and the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB) to address charges incurred by shippers, currently assessed by ocean carriers and the rail industry. As part of the directive, the EO will ask both agencies to specifically address the application and assessment of both detention and demurrage charges.
Jun 29, 2021
— A labor shortage and slight uptick in volume of military household goods shipments is creating chaos this year for some military families with permanent change of station orders.
Jun 16, 2021
— American politicians are discussing taking drastic action to force global liners to take all US export container bookings. A Republican and a Democrat have pitched the idea to the US House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, claiming yesterday American exporters are being discriminated by carriers who are rushing to send their empty boxes back to Asia rather than wait for American exporters – led by the agricultural community – to fill them up.
Update Number 21-0081
Jun 16, 2021
— USTRANSCOM has issued Advisory #21-0081A, authorizing TSPs to use non-DoD SIT facilities for Domestic Code of Service (COS) D and COS 2. There are warehouse requirements TSPs must ensure exist prior to using a warehouse, and several other requirements for use. Please be sure to read the entire advisory for details.
Jun 15, 2021
— The June 15 Conditions Based Movement Call with USTRANSCOM, Services and Industry covered the USTRANSCOM created “readahead” slides. Notes captured from the meeting highlight continued capacity constraints; thoughts on what DoD volume is expected for the remainder of the peak season; discussion on a falling refusal ratio and why that might be; questions to industry on labor availability, and more.
Jun 9, 2021
— The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) said it is accepting applications from qualified members of the international trade community wishing to serve on its newly formed National Shipper Advisory Committee (NSAC).
Jun 9, 2021
— Yesterday evening, the U.S. Senate today passed by a vote of 68-32, S. 1260, the U.S. Competition and Innovation Act, which included a key provision directing the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury to ensure that any personally identifiable information, are removed from a vessel, aircraft, or vehicle manifest, before that manifest is provided for public disclosure.
Jun 3, 2021
— Please see the attached slides and notes from the 3 Jun Peak Season call with DoD and industry. Significant conversations once again on capacity concerns from both the DoD side and industry side. Industry reps did a nice job laying out some of the issues. DoD is concerned with turnbacks that are apparently more significant this year (and certainly more significant earlier in the year) than previous years.
Update Number 21-0076
Jun 2, 2021
— The topic of “refusals” and short fuse expansion have been center stage for a couple of weeks with Personal Property Shipping Offices (PPSOs) and industry. Per advisory #21-0076, effective 1 June, TSPs can refuse shipments with requested pickup dates through 31 July.
Jun 1, 2021
— The DoD is still focused on preventing a large number of turnbacks they are experiencing this summer, and asking TSPs to engage the PPSOs earlier in the process if they can’t service a shipment, as opposed to holding on too long, which puts the member in an even worse position in terms of getting out of housing on schedule, making it to training, etc. Additionally, the TRANSCOM Deputy Commender, VADM Mewbourne, was interested in the large number of refusals, the reason behind turnbacks, and whether the assembled crowd believed we were seeing an earlier peak season than recent years.
Jun 1, 2021
— The EEOC provided long-awaited formal guidance surrounding vaccine incentives and requirements, in addition to updating several FAQs. IAM has followed this area closely for member companies, as vaccine incentives, requirements and other disclosures have been under review since late last year. Employers should keep in mind potential employee limitations and provide reasonable accommodations within the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines.
May 21, 2021
— Please see the attached slides and notes from the 20 May Peak Season call with DoD and industry. Plenty of discussion on the liftvan, crating, packing material advisory; as well as potential and issues with using seavan containers in lieu of liftvans.
May 19, 2021
— Currently, all persons entering the U.S. from an international destination via plane, (including U.S. citizens and those fully vaccinated), are required to have and present a negative COVID-19 test result taken no more than 3 days prior travel, OR documentation of recovery from COVID-19 within the past 3 months.
May 19, 2021
— Yesterday, the House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee held a hearing with Gen. Stephen Lyons, Commander, U.S. Transportation Command. Among the topics covered by Gen. Lyons and other witnesses, was a brief update on the pending Global Household Goods Contract (GHC).
Update Number 21-0051
May 17, 2021
— As a reminder, USTC published advisory #21-0051, canceling last year’s extension for submitting financial information for DP3 and NTS TSPs. See advisory for details.
May 14, 2021
— As we head into peak season, ERRC is providing guidance to ensure agencies have necessary latitude to approve adjustments when warranted for climbing lumber costs related to household goods shipping services. Price or service adjustments described in this notice are wholly at agency BLIO discretion. Please read the attached notice carefully and send questions, if any, to errc@gsa.gov.
May 6, 2021
— IAM President Charles White signed on to a joint letter to congressional leaders, urging them to reinstate the moving expense tax deduction effective Jan. 1 of this year, and also asked them to not increase corporate or individual tax rates at this time.
May 5, 2021
— USTRANSCOM covered the read ahead slides during their 4 May Conditions Based Movement call with industry and interested DoD parties. Please see IAM notes from the call for details.
Apr 27, 2021
— USTRANSCOM hosted the normal Tuesday Conditions-Based Movement call with DoD and industry attendees. The slides and notes from the call are attached.
Apr 22, 2021
— USTRANSCOM’s Personal Property Directorate held their weekly peak season call with interested DoD parties and the moving industry on 22 April. Please review the slides and notes from the call.
Apr 21, 2021
— New rate offers are now available in the General Services Administration’s (GSA’s) Transportation Management Services Solution 2.0 (TMSS 2.0) system for Household Goods shipments with a move date between May 1, 2021 and October 31, 2021. To view the new rate offers, log in to TMSS 2.0 and enter a Move Date between May 1, 2021 and October 31, 2021 on the “HHG Queries” screen.
Update Number 21-0051
Apr 16, 2021
— USTRANSCOM has canceled the extension they created for submitting financial information last year during the COVID Stop Movement. Please see the Personal Property Advisory #21-0051 for more detailed information.
Apr 16, 2021
— 15 April was DoD’s first peak season call that included industry. These calls are now weekly through 26 August. Set your calendar reminders for every Thursday at 0930 EDT.
Apr 13, 2021
— United States Transportation Command (USTC) hosted the weekly “Conditions-Based Movement Call” to discuss latest issues from DoD’s Personal Property Program (DP3). The “Readahead” slides were reviewed in short order. You can review overall highlights from the call, with updates from various DoD representatives.
Mar 18, 2021
— The readahead slides for this call were once again “fairly” consistent with previous weeks. Health Protection Protocols bumped up a bit. And reweigh compliance is still a large non-compliance issue.
Mar 15, 2021
— USTC’s Non-Peak call for 11 Mar was kicked off by COL Gipson reinforcing that COVID-19 Health Protocols are still in place and DoD will continue to focus on them.
Mar 10, 2021
— The 9 March Conditions Based Movement Call started out with an update from COL Gipson. She wanted to reinforce that although vaccinations against COVID-19 are continuing to rise, and new cases are falling, the DoD hasn’t changed their stance that Health Protocols are still required for DoD shipments. And those rules apply to Service Members as well.
Mar 3, 2021
— Each year, the Air Force Personal Property Activity sends out their Special Interest Items that they are focusing on for the new rate year. Attached are the Air Force’s 2021 Special Interest Items.
Mar 3, 2021
— There were no major items of interest noted on the readahead slides from the 2 Mar meeting. Overall, the last two Tuesday meetings have ended in less than a half-hour. There were a few notes of interest on today’s call, however.
Feb 24, 2021
— The Readahead slides on today’s DoD call were covered quickly with little new information noted. The number of reweigh violations was noted again, and industry was asked to focus their attention on reweigh requirements.
Feb 23, 2021
— First, GSA sent out a summary of Intrastate Moves Research which provides information on regulated and deregulated states and policies for moving intrastate shipments under CHAMP. The information in the summary will become effective 1 May 2021.
Second, GSA released an advisory on in response to impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic on higher cost of air shipments by commercial carriers. If there are any questions, please reach out to Kim Chancellor at Kim.Chancellor@gsa.gov.
Feb 10, 2021
— The readaheads for the 9 Feb Conditions-Based Movement call with DoD and Industry were covered by USTC J9. No major issues identified in the slides.
Feb 2, 2021
— Today’s call started out with a COVID-19 update from USTRANSCOM’s Command Surgeon. A great deal of information and stats on COVID was provided. The information was broad, detailing U.S. COVID statistics on cases, deaths, and vaccines. In general, the US, in terms of new cases, is currently at about where we were pre-Thanksgiving, and new case numbers are falling. CDC believes that trend will continue through at least March. In terms of vaccines, 50 million doses have been distributed; and 32 million doses have been administered.
Update Number 21-0006B
Jan 27, 2021
— TSPs must ensure their account information is complete and up-to-date with current contact information. Specific account questions can be directed to the Systems Response Center via 1-800-462-2176 or via e-mail usarmy.scott.sddc.mbx.g6-src-dps-hd@mail.mil. As previously communicated, the DPS Program continues to prepare for enforcement of RPA policies on 1 February 2021. Please ensure all RPA account requests are submitted before this date.
Jan 27, 2021
— USTRANSCOM covered the readaheads per usual. No major changes in data noted. Per request of the Air Force, J9 is looking at adding Non-Temp Storage (NTS) and Direct Procurement Method (DPM) shipment totals to slide one; but they are trying to clean up that data first. They stated it appears right now that as an average, NTS and DPM represent about 85 shipments per week; but the flow of those shipments is obviously not smoothed out over the whole year.
Jan 26, 2021
— IAM conducted two Government and Military Webcasts in December (Dec. 9 & Dec.15) to discuss new DoD 2021 business rules. Based on those webcasts, IAM took participant questions and asked USTRANSCOM J9 for clarification. IAM received the attached response from J9 Operations.
Jan 20, 2021
— The 19 January Conditions-Based Movement call hosted by J9, which included industry and Service/JPPSO representatives, started out by covering the attached slides.
Jan 14, 2021
— Last night, the SBA announced that PPP eligible lenders with $1 billion or less in assets may submit both first and second draw applications beginning tomorrow, Friday, January 15th at 9 am ET. The SBA's application portal will fully open on Tuesday, January 19th to participating PPP lenders of all sizes for both first and second draw loan applications.
Jan 13, 2021
— The 12 Jan USTC call was relatively quick today, with the Services not raising any issues or concerns. The read-ahead slides are changing slightly. The first slide will transition in a minimal way over the next week or so, but not significantly. The peak season numbers will once again reflect weeks 20-35 instead of 20-45 like they did for part of 2020. The three year average information will be included, but not direct information from the preceding year the way 2019 data was reflected in the 2020 slides. And the new depiction of data on slides 4-6 will continue to be honed over time.
Update Number 21-0024
Jan 12, 2021
— USTRANSCOM’s Defense Personal Property Management Office (DPMO) released advisory #21-0024 announcing the details for the Spring Personal Property Forum (PPF) to be held on 31 Mar and 1 Apr. The PPF will be virtual. Registration is required. The advisory is posted on move.mil/sme as well.
Jan 6, 2021
— TRANSCOM’s Defense Personal Property Management Office (DPMO), also known by their staff designation, J9, started the New Year with the Conditions Based Movement Call. Per industry requests, J9 is working to add a couple new slides. They are a work-in-progress at this point.
Dec 22, 2020
— This update represents the final J9 call of the year. The next DoD-Industry call will occur on 5 January. There is nothing of significance on the read-ahead slides provided.
Dec 11, 2020
— The 10 Dec non-peak season call produced no major insights. Slide #6 was quickly skipped as it appears to have obvious data problems. Industry asked J9 to relook at slide 18, Missed RDDs as the numbers don’t appear to add up when you compare the percent of shipments that go into SIT; the overall missed RDD all shipments; and the missed RDDs direct delivery.
Dec 9, 2020
— There was nothing of particular significance covered on the J9 Read-ahead slides for the 8 Dec meeting. None of the Services had comments during their portion of the meeting. J9 provided just a few updates.
Dec 2, 2020
— J9 stated they were appreciative of the work that went into industry and Service responses to business rules. They believe the changes made to business rules reflect that they are listening to our inputs and looking for common ground; but with an eye toward making changes they believe are pivotal to the customer and “tipping the scales” towards customer requirements.
Dec 1, 2020
— The below link to the government’s acquisition website features a Joint Base McGuire, Dix, Lakehurst (JBMDL) Draft DPM contract. The draft information outlining the acquisition action is attached for your reference. There are 10 attachments.
Nov 23, 2020
— FMC approved a Supplemental Order that expands the authority of Fact Finding 29, “International Ocean Transportation Supply Chain Engagement”. Commissioner Dye will lead the FMC's efforts into further investigation of ocean carriers operating in alliances, focusing on the Ports of Long Beach, Los Angeles and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Specifically, the Commission will review policies and practices related to detention and demurrage, container return and container availability.
Nov 10, 2020
— Today’s J9 call covered the attached slides in fairly quick order. Shipment pickups for the past 4 weeks have been slightly below the 3 year average. And current projections for the next 4-6 weeks are below the 3 year average. No insight provided as to why projected movements are slowing down.
Nov 4, 2020
— Shifts in pricing for air shipments, including unaccompanied air baggage (UAB) shipments, have resulted in significant cost fluctuations for air freight services. The increase in air freight shipping can be attributed to demand for cargo space as the economy rebounds has resulted in pricing and capacity volatility worldwide.
Nov 4, 2020
— USTRANSCOM will thoroughly, fairly, and completely re-evaluate the four most competitive offers and select the one that presents the best overall benefit and the highest quality of service for our service members, DOD civilians, and their families. Each of the four finalists will be given the opportunity to submit a new written proposal and conduct an oral presentation and demonstration to the Source Selection Team in the course of this determination.
Oct 21, 2020
— For those of you who were on the IAM Virtual Annual Meeting Session called “An Inside Look at DoD’s Personal Property Program” there was much discussion on the USTC J9 Request for Information (RFI) put out to industry with regard to climate controlled facilities for NTS Retrograde and the removal of the 50 mile radius requirement for facilities needing to be near Oakland and Norfolk.
Oct 21, 2020
— Upsurge of COVID world-wide, and heading into cold/flu season is a stark reminder that the DoD Health Protocols are still in effect for industry and service members. These protocols will be rolled into the TOS for 2021. Read More.
Sep 24, 2020
— The counseling and shipment award numbers for the week remain above the average for this week. J9 mentioned they see this as reflective of the peak season shift to the right. Slide 4 shows short fuse returning to normal levels after a sustained significant increase going back to week 27 or so.
Sep 21, 2020
— IAM participated in all 4 PPF sessions with USTRANSCOM J9 and the Services/JPPSOs. Below is a “short” summary; but there were many topics covered and this is NOT an attempt to detail them all. If something gets glossed over that you are interested in, let me know and I can try to go into more detail. I did not focus on taking notes, but mostly followed along with the slides, the conversation, and the chat box.
Sep 3, 2020
— Tuesday’s J9 call with industry and the Services followed a recent trend of very little change in data presented on the J9 slides, and very little interaction in terms of questions, answers and issues during the main portion of the brief. IAM took the opportunity, along with a few TSPs to ask questions and raise concerns with some of DoD’s proposed 2021 business rules. Specifically, the proposals to move Hawaii, Okinawa, and Spain to a winner-take-all Special Solicitation for COS 4; and the requirement for TSPs to provide a customer service capability on Saturdays.
Aug 27, 2020
— We are in week 35…the last historical week of peak season. The calls are getting more subdued. We’re hoping to see continued volume into the fall well beyond the historical numbers of the past.
Aug 26, 2020
— The 25 August USTC J9 call with industry and government representatives was the shortest of the season. No major issues or sticking points between industry and JPPSOs arose. several items were addressed.
Aug 13, 2020
— Much of today’s Peak Season call again centered around projections of workload into the fall. Refusals are extremely low; blackouts are extremely low; suspensions are low; offer handling time is low. The projected increased volume into the Fall is yet to materialize in a meaningful way that TSPs can see.
Aug 12, 2020
— The General Services Administration’s (GSA) Employee Relocation Resource Center (ERRC) held their Centralized Traffic Management Household Goods Program (CHAMP) virtual pre-bid meeting on 10 and 11 August.
Aug 12, 2020
— The August 11, J9 Conditions-Based Movement Call included inputs from the USTC Deputy Commander, VADM Mewbourne, the J9 Director, Rick Marsh and representatives from JPPSOs, Service Headquarters and industry participants.
Aug 6, 2020
— Before getting into details on this week’s Peak Season call, IAM received an email from the USTC J9 Director, Rick Marsh with regard to latest status on Sec 889 of the NDAA; and TSP certification. Per Mr. Marsh, as of COB 5 August, they had only received compliance certifications from roughly half of the HHG/UB SCACs and just under 20% of the NTS SCACs. The deadline for sending in certifications is 9 August.
Jul 31, 2020
— Due to the lengthy correspondence IAM put out on Sec 889 of the NDAA that came from Tuesday’s J9 Conditions Based Movement call, the following inputs cover other topics from that Tuesday call below, along with the Thursday Peak Season call.
Jul 28, 2020
— USTC J9 just released the attached email/advisory on Sec 889 of the 2019 NDAA. It has significant implications on your ability to remain on the TDL and receive shipments in DP3 for HHG and NTS shipments, beyond 13 August of 2020. Please read it thoroughly and comply by 9 August.
Jul 28, 2020
— 13 August, 2020 marks the date where provisions of Section 889 of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) take effect. Section 889 could potentially have an impact on your business. It’s time to start assessing if it does.
Apr 10, 2020
— GAO released their long-awaited report on their assessment of DoD’s Personal Property Program (DP3) and implications of transitioning to a single move manager under the Global Household Goods Contract (GHC).
May 24, 2019
— This is the eighth in a series of op-eds that IAM is running to shed additional light on problems associated with privatizing the household goods program to a single source contractor.
May 17, 2019
— This is the seventh in a series of op-eds that IAM is running to shed additional light on problems associated with privatizing the household goods program to a single source contractor.
May 10, 2019
— This is the sixth in a series of op-eds that IAM is running to shed additional light on problems associated with privatizing the household goods program to a single source contractor.
May 3, 2019
— This is the fifth in a series of op-eds that IAM is running to shed additional light on problems associated with privatizing the household goods program to a single source contractor.
Apr 26, 2019
— This is the fourth in a series of op-eds that IAM is running to shed additional light on problems associated with privatizing the household goods program to a single source contractor.
Apr 19, 2019
— This is the third in a series of op-eds that IAM is running to shed additional light on problems associated with privatizing the household goods program to a single source contractor.
Apr 12, 2019
— This is the second in a series of op-eds that IAM is running to shed additional light on problems associated with privatizing the household goods program to a single source contractor.
Apr 5, 2019
— This is the first in a series of op-eds that IAM is running to shed additional light on problems associated with privatizing the household goods program to a single source contractor.
Mar 29, 2019
— USTRANSCOM Public Affairs published a press release highlighting GEN Lyons’ meeting with CEOs from various moving companies who support DoD household goods movement, and a separate meeting with moving industry trade associations. The press release is not an accurate account of the events of those meetings. Industry attendees believe the tone of the press release implied industry’s support to the general’s decision to award a contract to a single provider. To be clear, most of DoD’s current household goods service providers do not support this initiative.
— This morning, the Trump Administration announced that community and minority owned lending institutions may begin processing PPP loan applications this Jan. 11. The program will initially reopen for first-time borrowers, and for second-time (aka "second draw") borrowers application processing to begin on Jan. 13.
— Please see attached letter from Ms. Ellen Lord, Under Secretary for Acquisition and Sustainment, thanking industry for their commitment and focusing on maintaining the Defense Industrial Base. Also, please see the emails below which contain links to a short video from Secretary Esper, regarding them same.
