Although the events of 2020 shook the moving industry to its core, this is still one of the most profitable sectors. A US Census report noted that Americans move, on average, over 10 times during their lifetime.

This means that the moving industry has plenty of potential customers. And with only a couple thousand companies catering to all 50 states, there’s enough room for everyone to get a slice of the moving market pie.

But there’s a big difference between surviving and thriving as a moving company. If you want to be successful, there are a couple of key moving industry trends you should know about.

Keeping up with trends and moving industry statistics will help you optimize your operational processes and marketing to deliver better service and convert more prospects into buyers.

Who Is More Likely to Move?

The American Moving & Storage Association reports that individuals and families are the most likely to require moving services, rather than businesses.

This has been made clear in moving industry statistics, with well over 40% of moving demands made by families and individuals.

Corporate moves and relocations follow in second place with around 38%. Military moves only account for 16% of yearly relocations, while government agencies are responsible for 2% of moves.

This is a trend moving company owners need to understand to learn the marketplace and target the right audience. Unless you specialize in military or government moves, catering to individuals, families, or corporate customers will increase your chances of making sales and turning a profit.

It’s also important to know that renters tend to move more often than homeowners. For example, moving industry statistics from 2017 showed that over 21% of renters moved compared to only 5.5% of homeowners.

Again, understanding the industry trends will help you identify your ideal audience and most profitable customer profile.

The Busiest Times of the Year

If you want to be a trend moving company, you must know when people prefer to move. This will give you a sense of how to create a marketing strategy that will produce more leads and help you make more sales.

Keeping up with moving industry statistics regarding timing will also help you project slower months. Knowing when business might slow down can create opportunities. You can offer discounts, promotions, new services, and even get ahead of your competitors with a well-structured offer and good lead generation strategy.

It should come as no surprise that summertime is when most people, while their children are out of school and relocating will be less impactful. The moving industry may see up to half its total number of moves between May and Labor Day.

June, July, and August alone equal around 35% of the entire moving industry revenue. In contrast, December and January usually don’t account for more than 3% each.

Of course, these figures may change slightly every year. But it’s hard to imagine a new favorite season for moving, unless we experience some spectacular climate changes. This is one moving industry trend that isn’t going away soon.

What You Need to Know About Relocation Distances

Some movers only cater to local customers, while others help people relocate hundreds or thousands of miles away.

Unsurprisingly, most Americans tend to move somewhere in the same state. In fact, over 80% of Americans prefer staying in their home state, while around 13% choose different states.

As a trend moving company, you should also know that those who remain in the same state won’t always need long-haul services. Over 40% of them will relocate to a new address within 50 miles of their last location.

Those relocating 500 miles away or farther amount to around 24% of movers.

These moving industry statistics should be encouraging for movers. They show that despite the moving industry market size, getting many clients is still possible without necessarily offering cross-country moving services.

This environment enables smaller moving companies to grow and build their reputation at a comfortable pace. After all, it takes less investment in logistics, infrastructure, equipment, and staff to fulfill short-distance orders.

How Big Is the Moving Industry Market Size Really?

Unfortunately, not everyone that moves wants to hire a professional moving company. Only around 33% of people, families, and corporations seek experienced transporters.

That still means over 650,000 prospects each year.

Some 45% of people recognize they need assistance when planning and executing a move. While they might not hire professionals, they could still rent a truck.

This means you have even more potential prospects. Tapping into this pool will be a matter of figuring out how to explain the benefits of hiring a moving company over the benefits of saving a few bucks.

Moving Industry Revenue Trends and Facts

The moving industry, comprised of about 7,000 companies, generates over $85 billion per year. The industry has grown at around an average of 3% since the Great Recession. It generates substantial amounts of money in tax revenue and has a significant social impact.

But what’s important to realize is how the revenue is generated.

According to a market research report by IBIS World, most of the revenue comes from moving costs or logistics. Packing and packaging amount to 7.5%, while storage costs can add up to 20%.

The latter isn’t surprising, since moving and storage industry operations are closely related. In fact, most moving and storage industry statistics show that self-storage in the United States can generate $36 billion annually.

Why should these trends and statistics matter to you?

Information is key to success, and your business can only be profitable if you’re proficient at making sales and keeping your expenses and overhead low.

Figuring out a way to reduce your moving costs per order and speed up delivery times will significantly impact your company’s bottom line, because most people who move need transportation services above everything else.

Know What People Move and What They Move Into

Imagine you want to connect with your audience better, engage prospects, and offer a greater customer experience. You would need to know your ideal customer’s age, where they’re most likely to move, and what items they may want shipped.

The most frequent movers are between 18 and 34 years old. As people get older, they’re far less likely to relocate. This is one of the key moving industry trends you should know about when creating a marketing strategy.

Equally important to understand is that single-bedroom (28.1%) and two-bedroom (21.16%) houses are the most popular choices for individuals and families.

Big homes with more than four bedrooms only account for around 7.7%. Studio apartments aren’t trendy either, as they come in at a little over 9%.

If you’re familiar with the most likely destinations your prospect can pick, you’ll better understand how to focus your local marketing efforts. You can present your services and moving industry expertise to people you’re more qualified to help based on your equipment, proximity, routes, and other factors.

But what do people move?

People relocate for many reasons, from getting a new job to wanting a bigger house and everything else. This only means that you could expect to ship anything if you’re unfamiliar with the current trend. Movers take mostly household items, with electronics coming in second.

Up to 73% of shipped goods during relocation will be household goods, while computers and other similar office gadgets make up 20% of most items moved.

These trends and moving industry statistics should tell you what type of moving jobs you can expect to get. It’s up to you to decide if you want to offer a broader or narrower range of services based on your expertise, trucks, insurance coverage, logistics network, etc.

Do You Need More Employees?

Some moving companies focus a lot on expanding their teams and fleets to serve more clients. Revenue and profit are often linked to having more customers.

But there’s a lot that goes into determining profitability. Your overhead, expenses, investments, and customer consistency can impact your bottom line more.

Hiring more drivers to fulfill customer orders won’t guarantee financial success. Especially if you overpay for customer acquisition.

The most successful companies in the moving and storage industry are well-known. They’re veritable corporations with hundreds if not thousands of drivers.

But here’s something you probably don’t know. Over 47% of all moving companies in the United States are small businesses, employing no more than five people. Moving companies with 100 or more employees account for 8.5% of the entire moving industry fleet.

Small moving companies can thrive in this sector.

More drivers or fancier trucks won’t guarantee your success. Financial good fortune comes when you deliver exceptional service and a great customer experience and generate high-quality leads and prospects that fit your ideal customer profile.

Sure, some industry trends will force you to adapt or pivot your business. But marketing to the right audience still remains one of the biggest differentiators regarding success.

The Newest Moving Industry Trends

Although some trends haven’t changed in the moving industry for decades, the numbers haven’t stayed the same.

The economy and world events can affect the moving industry just like any other sector. The best evidence for this is the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic that disrupted the moving and transportation industry by creating delays, causing unemployment, etc.

But something else happened because of the pandemic.

More people are likely to move for homeownership reasons instead of gaining more job flexibility.

The unspoken fear of health crises and lockdowns makes country or suburb living more appealing to many Americans. The fact that more people can work remotely now is an even greater incentive for relocating outside metropolitan areas.

Outdoor space and storage space are among the hottest commodities. Lower living costs are in high demand too, a trend made evident by a substantial increase in moves to Denver, and other less expensive cities.

Most people moved from California and New York in 2020 and 2021 due to the health crisis. States like Maine, New Mexico, Texas, and Idaho were among the top destinations in 2021.

Whether or not this will change in the immediate future is hard to tell. But there’s no denying that the California–Texas interstate routes are still among the busiest for the moving industry.

These new trends deeply impact the moving industry.

As a moving company, you must consider adding new routes, perhaps new equipment, and expanding into new territories if you want to generate more leads.

Expansion can be tricky, because it requires marketing to a new audience. You’re going in as a new brand, and people might not immediately respect your authority and expertise or follow you on social media.

That said, getting moving leads can be much easier if you work with a lead provider. Someone who is specialized in generating moving leads for other businesses and has experience in breaking into new territories can help you get results faster.

You have to position your company and services as the solution and give people what they want. And what they want now might be very different than their pre-pandemic requirements.

Enough people move every year for you to stay busy and make a profit. But whether the number of movers fluctuates significantly won’t impact your revenue as hard as not understanding what movers need and how to reach out to them.

Give Yourself a Yearly Trend Update

If you want to get a slice of the moving market, you must stay familiar with the latest and the oldest ongoing trends.

Trends give insight into the moving industry as a whole, and your customer’s mind. With every new trend, movers might develop new pain points and desires that you must address with your marketing and delivery.

For every new trend, moving company expectations can change. The good news is that most industry statistics show that there’s enough business to go around for everyone. It’s up to you to decide which movers you want to target and put yourself in a position to consistently work with as many as you can.

If your lead generation strategy isn’t paying off or taking full advantage of key industry trends, don’t hesitate to contact us. Our moving leads generation services can set your company up with personalized campaigns capable of filling your sales funnel and fueling your expansion.