The U.S. Census Bureau last spring reported the national residential mover rate declined to 11.9 percent in 2008, the lowest it”™s been since 1948.
For New England-based moving and storage company Gentle Giant Moving Co., retaining a strong client base and developing structured work-share programs to keep employees punching the clock in the climate spun by the foreclosure crisis resulted in the company just being named Independent Mover of the Year by the American Moving and Storage Association (AMSA).
“Indy Award” nominees had to demonstrate good customer service and commitment to quality practices; Gentle Giant was also recognized for an 80 percent customer repeat and referral rate.
The company operates 16 regional offices, including one in Tarrytown, but has a vast regional footprint.
“When we”™re down in Manhattan on jobs, we”™ll find ourselves up in Rockland and Putnam,” said Noah Duarte, regional manager for New York. “We service Fairfield County customers from an interstate perspective, in terms of customers moving from say, Westchester or Boston.”
“I think now more than ever people are concerned about how they”™re spending their money,” he said. “And the value people get, kind of makes it easy to say, ”˜If I”™m going to spend this money anyway, I might as well get as much as I can.”™”
A national ABF U-Pack Moving Trends 2009 Report noted job availability was cited as one of the primary reasons for a long-distance move.
U-Pack Moving found that the state of New Jersey in 2008 rated No. 1 for the highest percentage of out-of-state moves for its self-service business model.
The Census Bureau reported the Northeast in 2008 had the lowest mover rate at 8.2 percent. The Midwest came in at 11.1 percent; the West, 13.2 percent; and the South, 13.5 percent.
“Even though the number of people who changed residence in 2008 dropped by 3.5 million from the previous year, millions of Americans continue to move,” said Tom Mesenbourg, acting director of the U.S. Census Bureau, in the report titled “Geographic Mobility.” “As we gear up for the 2010 Census, we will be looking to get an accurate count of everyone in the country, regardless of whether they moved in the past year or not.”
