MSC blasts sudden, drastic changes to DP3

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TRANSCOM recently sprung significant changes to the current Defense Personal Property Program (DP3) for 2025.

Upon reviewing the publication of Advisory #25-0024, the ATA Moving & Storage Conference's Executive Committee unanimously agreed that the proposal will destabilize the industry, provide less predictability, and risk leading to an erosion of confidence in the moving services that military families deserve. Their concerns centered on:

1) The reduction in performance periods from four to two. Four performance cycles have been in place for over 15 years, with TSPs having a stable understanding of how moving traffic flows in this model. Under this change, industry participants have little way to predict what the 2025 moving season will look like. Another drawback is that a reduction in performance periods will increase the customer satisfaction survey feedback loop since it will take longer for a TSP's recent behavior to be reflected in its quality score.

2) The potential for new special solicitations groupings. The industry has been clear that SS groupings are destabilizing and difficult to manage given the ebbs and flows in volume and the challenges with meeting requests for capacity.

3) The prohibitions on Common Financial and/or Administrative Control in the domestic program. The prohibition on filing rates in the same channel for TSPs in CFAC is the most significant and destabilizing of the three changes. For the last 30 years, program stakeholders have developed a clear interpretation of shipment volumes without the CFAC prohibition in the domestic market. This ill-conceived change throws that understanding into disarray.

On behalf of more than 1,800 movers-including small-and-medium-sized, multi-generational moving companies, independent movers, and the vast network of van lines and their agents-Dan Hilton, executive director of ATA's Moving & Storage Conference, sent a letter to TRANSCOM outlining the industry's broad opposition to the proposal and requesting stability and predictability so that movers can continue to serve their military customers.

"By all measures 2024 was a successful moving season and that has been corroborated by TRANSCOM and the military services. With no clear benefit provided by these changes for the military customer, it is questionable whether these changes are necessary, especially now that we are on the cusp of the most significant industry change in memory. The industry has been clear that it is unable to make business investments, like signing a lease on a warehouse, or purchasing a new truck because of this uncertainty. The companies being destabilized are the same professional moving companies that the Department of Defense is relying on to help successfully stand up the GHC.

"The members of ATA-MSC are proud of their partnership with TRANSCOM and take seriously their role in assisting service members and their families during these challenging times. The seamless move from one home to the next is a critical component of military readiness that our members are honored to be an instrumental part of. We respectfully request that you move quickly to rescind these unnecessary and dramatic changes and refrain from making any further changes. It is essential that moving forward, TRANSCOM carefully considers program stability as it applies to the 2025 business rules that further risk the program's success."

Hilton's full letter can be found here and below.