If you ask most modular executives what keeps them awake at night, transportation and set crews don’t usually top the list. Yet anyone who’s been in this industry long enough knows the truth: what looks like a minor step in the process can become the biggest bottleneck, derailing schedules and reputations faster than a flat tire on a wide-load trailer.
Transportation: The Not-So-Simple Shuffle
Moving wide loads isn’t just a matter of hooking up and driving away. Each trip is a logistical minefield of permits, restricted routes, and those maddening “no travel” windows in high-density areas. Add in tight roadways, low bridges, and the occasional blowout, and suddenly a house designed to be delivered in a day becomes a multi-day headache.
photo – Specialized Transportation Enterprises
Transportation companies are treated like background players, but the entire modular industry relies on their precision. Without them, modules never make it to the job site, and the factory’s promise of “on-time delivery” collapses into a string of costly excuses.
Set Crews: From Houses to High-Rises
It wasn’t that long ago when set crews simply placed homes on foundations and moved on to the next job. Today, the market has shifted under their feet. Set crews are being courted by developers with multi-million-dollar projects that keep them in one location for weeks at a time. For many, the lure of stability and guaranteed pay has replaced the constant churn of single-family projects.
Photo – Westchester Modular
That leaves factories and small developers scrambling, often competing with deeper pockets for fewer and fewer reliable crews. And let’s be honest—quality is not always guaranteed. Too many times, rushed jobs and poor workmanship leave factories with angry buyers and damaged reputations.
The Urban Dilemma
Then there’s the growing reluctance of set crews to take on inner-city projects. Some crews flat-out refuse infill lots, citing logistical nightmares. Others quietly admit a deeper concern: the risk of ICE showing up and questioning the legal status of their workers. Whether the fear is justified or not, the result is the same—critical projects stalled, frustrated developers, and another black eye for modular’s promise of speed and efficiency.
If the industry can’t find a way to get crews safely and confidently into cities, the promise of modular as a tool for solving urban housing shortages will remain just that—a promise.
Why This Matters More Than You Think
Transportation and set crews are not side notes in modular construction. They are the final mile, the last impression, and the difference between success and disaster. Yet they are too often treated as expendable subcontractors instead of vital partners in the process.
Factories spend millions on automation, robotics, and design software, only to watch it all unravel because of one missed permit, one broken axle, or one set crew that decided the city wasn’t worth the hassle.
Until we start treating transport and set crews as the backbone of our industry—worthy of investment, training, and respect—the modular industry will continue to suffer from self-inflicted wounds.
Modcoach’s Stern reality check:
A factory’s reputation isn’t made in the CAD room or on the production line. It’s made in the last 48 hours—when modules leave the yard and get set in place. Ignore that truth, and you might as well ignore your future.
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With over 9,000 published articles on modular and offsite construction, Gary Fleisher remains one of the most trusted voices in the industry.
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