Demand for professional movers spikes during the summer months and local companies say manpower may be unavailable for those that wait too long to hire help.
The moving industry picks up significantly more business between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
Amy Martin, an office assistant at Brothers Moving & Storage in Odessa, said the busy moving season reaches its peak in June and July with many preferring to hold off moving until the end of the school year.
She said relocation to a new home or school district is often a smoother transition for families when it occurs during the summer break.
Martin said residents should book and secure moving assistance as soon as they find out their closing date on a home or are nearing the end of their apartment lease because available appointment spots fill up fast.
The company’s owner, Paul Woodruff, said two to three weeks is not that far out in advance to hire professional movers and advised those relocating to at least aim to book a move a month, if not several months, out.
“Don’t wait until the week of or two days before,” Woodruff said. “You will be without moving assistance.”
Texas registered as U-Haul’s No. 1 growth state in America for the third consecutive year, a 2018 U-Haul migration trends report stated.
U-Haul growth state data is calculated by the net gain of one-way U-Haul trucks entering a state versus leaving that state during a calendar year, and the information collected compiles more than two million one-way U-Haul truck sharing transactions, their website states.
Woodruff said the demand for movers can be hard to meet with oil production in the Permian Basin at a high. He said companies like his are affected by not only by the influx of people moving to Midland-Odessa, but also the labor pool from which he is able to employ eligible workers for labor services.
Less than a dozen movers work for Brothers Moving & Storage and they complete about two to five moves a day for both household and business moves.
With summer ramping up, Woodruff said the company must walk a fine line of finding additional labor while still being critical of providing a standard of quality service.
He said people moving should also be patient with movers who might need additional breaks as temperatures rise in order to stay hydrated and safe during work.
