Heavy Duty Trucking, February 2018

HDT FEBRUARY 2018 22 WWW TRUCKINGINFO COM Hotline TRUCKINGS MOST RESPECTED BUSINESS REPORT Watch ECONOMIC Moving trends could shift freight patterns Common sense says a shop owner who locates a business where there is a healthy growing population is more likely to be successful However those population patterns are shifting and it could mean a change in where you deliver freight Americans are moving westward flocking to the Mountain and Pacific West while the Northeast and Midwest continue to lose residents according to United Van Lines 41st Annual National Movers Study which has been tracking customers state to state migration patterns annually since 1977 For 2017 the study is based on household moves handled by United within the 48 contiguous states and Washington D C The study ranks states based on the inbound and outbound percentages of total moves in each state United classifies states as high inbound if 55 or more of the moves were going into a state high outbound if 55 or more moves were coming out of a state or balanced if the difference between inbound and outbound was negligible It found that in 2017 more residents moved out of Illinois than any other state with 63 of the moves being outbound Vermont had the highest percentage of inbound migration in 2017 with nearly 68 of moves being inbound As a region the Mountain West continues to increase in popularity with 54 of moves being inbound The West is represented on the high inbound list by Oregon Idaho Nevada Washington and Colorado The southern states also saw a high number of people moving in with 52 of total moves being inbound This years data reflects longer term trends of movement to the western and southern states especially to those where housing costs are relatively lower climates are more temperate and job growth has been at or above the national average among other factors said Michael Stoll economist and professor in the Department of Public Policy at the University of California Los Angeles Were also seeing continued migration to the Pacific Northwest and Mountain West as young professionals and retirees leave California The Mountain West was the most popular destination for retirees with one in four of those moving indicating they chose to move to this location for retirement Top regions attracting those taking new jobs included the Midwest and Pacific West Even though the South had a high inbound ratio it was also the region with the largest exodus of residents finding jobs elsewhere Across all regions nearly one in five of those who moved in 2017 moved to be closer to family The Northeast continues to experience a moving deficit with New Jersey 629 outbound New York 61 and Connecticut on the list of top outbound states for the third consecutive year Illinois 634 which has been in the top five for nine years moved up one spot on the outbound list to number one knocking off New Jersey which had held the top spot for five consecutive years New additions to the 2017 top outbound list include Massachusetts and Wisconsin Evan Lockridge Business Contributing Editor elockridge@ truckinginfo com Evan Lockridge covers business and economic news for HDT both in this monthly column and on Truckinginfo com A freelance writer he has been covering the trucking industry in print online and on the air since 1991 Top 10 Inbound and Outbound States by Shipment Percentage INBOUND 1 Vermont 677 2 Oregon 647 3 Idaho 634 4 Nevada 614 5 South Dakota 606 6 Washington 592 7 South Carolina 569 8 North Carolina 564 9 Colorado 555 10 Alabama 553 OUTBOUND 1 Illinois 634 2 New Jersey 629 3 New York 606 4 Connecticut 571 5 Kansas 567 6 Massachusetts 563 7 Ohio 562 8 Kentucky 560 9 Utah 557 10 Wisconsin 545 New to the 2017 top inbound list were Colorado and Alabama while Massachusetts and Wisconsin were new to the outbound list SOURCE UNITED VAN LINES 41ST ANNUAL NATIONAL MOVERS STUDY