Americans Appear to Be Happy Where They Are During 2017, 11.0% of the US population moved, or 34.9 million people, which was essentially unchanged from 2016’s 35.1 million, or 11.2%. The renters’ moving rate was at a historic low of 21.7% and the owners’ moving rate was 5.5%. According to the American Moving & Storage Association, there are 7,000 companies providing moving and storage services operating from 13,900 locations. This includes van lines, full-service movers, international movers, forwarders and auto transporters. The industry is highly fragmented, with almost half (47.8%) of companies employing fewer than 5 people. Only 8.5% of companies have 100 or more employees. The industry generates more than $12.6 billion annually.

Short-Distance Wanderlust Of those who moved during 2017, 61.9% moved within the same county; 19.1% moved to a different county in the same state; 4.7% to a different state, same division; 3.0% to a different division, same region; 7.7% to a different region; and 3.6% abroad. The largest group of movers was Millennials, who accounted for 42.3% of the total, followed by minors, aged 1–17, 23.6%; Gen Xers, 22.0%; Baby Boomers, 10.1%; and Greatest Generation, aged 75+, only 1.9%. More than a third (36.7%) of people who moved have never been married, followed by 27.9% who are married with spouse present, and then children 1–14, 20.3%.

Heading Towards the Setting Sun Americans are moving from the Northeast and Midwest to the Pacific and Mountain West. The Mountain West is the new retirement destination, with 25% of those moving to the region saying they are relocating to retire there. Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, South Dakota and Colorado were the most popular states for relocation. California had as many people enter and leave while more left Utah and Kansas Only three states in the South had net gains: Alabama, North Carolina and South Carolina. Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia had an equal number of those who entered and left, as well as Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas.

Relocating for Work and Career Opportunities According to data from Atlas Van Lines’ 2017 Corporate Relocation Survey, 47% of the companies surveyed anticipated some or significant increases in relocations for 2017. This was more pronounced among mid-sized companies, at 53%. The top three factors affecting employee relocation during 2016 were lack of local talent (44%), expansion efforts (43%) and company growth (41%). Only 9% of companies surveyed expected their 2017 relocation budget to shrink; 44% expected it to increase. More than half of people moving to the Pacific West (59%) are moving for new jobs, and 61% of those leaving the South cited the same reason. Other reasons for the westward migration included lower housing costs and a more temperate climate.

Document Storage Almost Totally Digital With the introduction of cloud technology, more companies of various sizes have moved from physical to digital document storage. In fact, a 2017 Clutch study found 70% of the enterprises participating in the survey used cloud services for file storage. Almost an equal percentage of enterprises (69%) are more comfortable with storing data in the cloud, compared to just 25% in a legacy system. The RightScale 2017 State of the Cloud Report revealed that SMBs (businesses with fewer than 1,000 employees) are more cloud-focused than enterprise businesses (more than 1,000 employees), at 38% and 28%, respectively.

Advertising Strategies With June and July the busiest months for moving, moving companies should increase advertising from April through early June, with an emphasis on their on-time arrival record and special care taken to ensure little or no damages. Because 80% of moves during 2017 were within the same state, local/regional moving companies can highlight their familiarity with most major cities/towns within their state to which they’ve moved customers. To maximize asset usage, run specials to encourage customers to move during off- months (December–January) and/or days of the week (Tuesdays and Sundays).

New Media Strategies Because videos are the most compelling online content format, record a number of short videos featuring crew members and a specific method they use to pack, protect and move delicate items. Regional/national movers should seriously consider an app that allows customers to track the journey of the moving truck, so they know of any delays as soon as possible and be prepared for the truck to arrive at a specific time. Consumers prefer to do business with companies involved in their communities. Once a quarter volunteer a truck and crew to move a low-income family or help a non- profit or charity. Shoot photos and videos and post to your Website and social media.