U-Haul 2016 Growth State No. 2: FLORIDA

Arrivals accounted for 50.4 percent of U-Haul traffic in Florida in 2016 thanks to locations like Kissimmee, Brandon, Miami, Melbourne, Bradenton and Boca Raton, the cities to pace the net gain of one-way U-Haul trucks Kissimmee is the No. 10 U-Haul U.S. Growth City for locations with a population of more than 50,000. Brandon ranks 14th and Miami 17th.

Follow the Top 10 Growth States daily countdown through Feb. 3 on Twitter @uhaul and view other migration trends reports, including the U.S. Growth Cities release, at myuhaulstory.com.

Growth States are calculated by the net gain of one-way U-Haul truck rentals entering a state versus leaving a state during a calendar year. Migration trends data is compiled from more than 1.7 million one-way U-Haul truck rental transactions that occur annually.

While migration trends do not correlate directly to population or economic growth, U-Haul growth data is an effective gauge of how well cities are attracting and maintaining residents.

"There has been a large migration into Central Florida," said Rod Baldwin, U-Haul Company of Orlando president. "Osceola County has been one of the fastest growing counties in the state. It's funny because it was pretty rundown for some time, but it's caught fire and we're running with it. We are in the process of building a 70,000-square-foot store in Kissimmee."

U-Haul has several stores under construction and intends to add more than 60 new independent businesses to its neighborhood dealer network in the Orlando area over the next two years. But that's far from the only region in Florida where do-it-yourself movers are flocking.

"I see signs of growth every day," said Rainel Gonzalez, U-Haul Company of Miami president. "The construction in downtown Miami is picking up and the Hispanic neighborhoods are growing like crazy."

"The (Metro) Tampa area has received many in-bound trucks over the past year, and many of them have been our 20- and 26-foot trucks," added Bob Magyar, U-Haul Company of Tampa president. "This usually means families are moving into the area, typically with children and from larger homes."

Find U-Haul stores and neighborhood dealers in Florida at uhaul.com/locations.

U-Haul is the authority on migration trends thanks to its expansive network that blankets all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. The geographical coverage from more than 21,000 U-Haul locations, including neighborhood dealers and Company-owned and -operated stores, provides a comprehensive overview of where people are moving like no one else in the industry.

About U-Haul
Since 1945, U-Haul has been the No. 1 choice of do-it-yourself movers, with a network of more than 21,000 locations across all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. U-Haul customers' patronage has enabled the U-Haul fleet to grow to more than 139,000 trucks, 108,000 trailers and 38,000 towing devices. U-Haul offers more than 536,000 rooms and more than 50 million square feet of self-storage space at owned and managed facilities throughout North America. U-Haul is the largest installer of permanent trailer hitches in the automotive aftermarket industry and is the largest retailer of propane in the U.S. www.uhaul.com

Contact
Jeff Lockridge
Sebastien Reyes
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 602-760-4941
Website: uhaul.com

SOURCE U-Haul