Are Forwarders' Rates for Moving Military Household Goods High Enough To Cover Costs?

Basically, there are two methods of shipping household goods of military personnel overseas; the " direct procurement method" under which the Government makes arrangements with individual firms for all required services, and the "international through government bill of lading method" under which the Government pays a household goods forwarder to make the arrangements. This second method is used in 95 percent of the Department of Defense's (DOD) overseas shipments. The cost of shipments overseas is about $250 million annually.