Storage-in-transit
Also called: SIT, mover storage, storage in transit fee, temporary storage during a move
A mover's temporary storage of your goods in their warehouse between pickup and delivery, when the new home isn't ready. Billed monthly at $300–$1,200 plus handling in and out, on top of the move. With a container it's built in: the unit waits at the company's center for $150–$250 a month.
Closing dates rarely line up. When the old house is sold before the new one is ready, a full-service mover offers storage-in-transit: the truck unloads into their warehouse (or a vault inside it), the goods sit for days to months, and a crew reloads and delivers when you call. On an interstate move, federal rules cap SIT at 90 days before it becomes permanent storage under a different contract.
It’s expensive because everything is handled twice more: unload into the warehouse, reload onto a truck. Expect $300–$1,200 a month by volume, plus in-and-out handling of $200–$600 each way, plus a redelivery charge. Valuation coverage has to be extended to cover the storage period. Over a two-month gap that can add $1,500–$3,000 to a long-distance move.
A moving container makes the same gap cheap: the loaded unit is collected and parked at the company’s storage center for $150–$250 a month, and nothing is touched until it’s delivered. For moves with an unknown gap, that’s often the deciding factor between a container and full service, more than the base price.