Supply and Demand in Action: The U-Haul Indicator

I've posted numerous times (here, here, here and here) about how one-way U-Haul truck rental rates reflect supply and demand in action and measure household migration patterns, resulting in high one-way rental prices that reflect high outbound demand (and low inbound demand), and low prices that reflect low outbound demand (and high inbound demand).

Now MSN reports on this phenomenon in an article "Where Jobs Are: The U-Haul Indicator":

One measure of a region's economic health is the relative price of moving-truck rentals. It has been said that people vote with their feet. They pick up and go to where the jobs and opportunities are. The hard part is that it costs more -- a lot more -- to move to where the jobs and opportunities are than to move to where jobs and opportunities are limited. My favorite measure for this doesn't come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nor does it come from any other agency of the federal government.

It comes from U-Haul, the truck and trailer rental company. It has on-the-ground evidence and prices its rentals accordingly. Go to its Web site, and you can learn quickly where people are going. You can also learn where they are leaving. How will you know this? Simple..

MP: You heard it here first.

Comments

[Tony Petroski:]

Mr. Perry: A little more detail please. You have the makings of a good article here. I went to the website and wasn't quickly able to find the information you did. As a service to busy professionals, either finish the article with a little more instruction as to how we get this info. from the site, or just summarize your findings.

Thanks.

Oct 28 09:25 AM

[Tom E.:]

If you are going to take the time to write an article, why not just list the top 5 incoming and outgoing states?

Oct 28 10:00 AM

[Zmartmoney:]

Is this a homework assignment...? Did I miss something? Where's the beef?

Oct 28 01:44 PM

[lotogo:]

Thank you, Mr. Perry. The data correlate very nicely. For those willing to invest a few keystrokes: Go to the U-haul web site and query the one way rate from New York, NY to Dallas, TX, then the reverse, etc.
I hadn't thought about it even once...duh.

Oct 28 02:03 PM

[Down Time:]

Short and to the point, thanks man.

Oct 28 07:05 PM

[WCN:]

Texas and the law of arrivals and departures
Houston Chroncile
Oct. 27, 2009, 9:37PM


Try $1,808 if you want to rent a 26-foot U-Haul truck, fill it with your worldly goods, and drive it to San Antonio. But if you wanted to leave San Antonio (unemployment rate: 7 percent) and move to Las Vegas, it would cost you only $421 for the same equipment.

www.chron.com/disp/sto...

Oct 28 10:07 PM

[nautilus508:]

WCN - You comment makes no sense. Fill your truck FROM WHERE and drive it to San Antonio. Dallas? Bangor, Maine? U-Haul rates are FIRST based on the mileage to be driven (which factors in the time the truck will be used).

Oct 29 12:38 AM

[Econ 1:]

I just punched in From Dayton, OH to San Antonio, TX and got the rate ($1106), went back and entered the reverse and got $596. I think it's interesting but I have attention disorders and am already thinking about something else....

Oct 29 07:58 AM

[Genesis:]

People are still moving to southern California. It must be boring to see the same results there year after year.

Nov 06 02:24 AM