San Antonio was the No. 5 Destination City for U-Haul International, Inc. trucks in 2015, down from its No. 4 placement for the 2014 calendar year, according to an annual ranking published by U-Haul last week. The complete list was first published locally by the San Antonio Business Journal on Friday.
The ranking measures how many one-way U-Haul truck rentals arrived in San Antonio over the span of one year. Houston took the No. 1 spot for the seventh consecutive year in 2015; Chicago, Orlando, and Austin followed, earning Texas three of the top five destinations.
Las Vegas, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Kansas City, and Phoenix, respectively, completed the top 10.
“For a city like San Antonio, it is a huge thing to be listed as a top destination city because it shows that we have good employment (conditions), good schools, and lots of opportunities for people coming into the area,” said Johnathon Martinez, president of marketing for U-Haul San Antonio West. “Businesses migrate here for low tax purposes and things of that nature.”
The report, published on Memorial Day weekend, kicked off U-Haul’s unofficial moving season — about 45% of all moves fall between Memorial Day and Labor Day. The U-Haul Top 50 U.S. Destination Cities ranking considers all U.S. cities regardless of their size. The report included more than 1.7 million one-way U-Haul truck transactions during 2015, but excluded trailers or intra-city rentals.
Because the ranking only accounts for incoming traffic, the data does not necessarily reflect growth. It is, however, a decent gauge of how successfully cities are attracting newcomers.
“Our migration data offers a comprehensive assessment of where people are traveling, because our growing network of 20,000-plus locations across the U.S. and Canada is unmatched in the do-it-yourself moving industry,” stated U-Haul President John (J.T.) Taylor in a news release.
U-Haul truck arrivals were up 2% for San Antonio from 2014 to 2015 and departures increased by 4%, said U-Haul spokesperson Jeff Lockridge. Exact numbers are not released for competitive reasons.
Overall, 49.4% of one-way U-Haul truck traffic in San Antonio were incoming and 50.6% were outgoing.
Top image: U-Haul announced the Top 50 U.S. Destination Cities for the past calendar year. Houston maintained the top spot in the rankings for the seventh consecutive year, receiving more one-way U-Haul truck rentals in 2015 than any other destination. Chicago, Orlando, Austin and San Antonio followed as Texas secured three of the top five destinations. Photo courtesy of PRNewsFoto/U-Haul.
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