In tight economy people stay put

NEW YORK, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Moving vans logged fewer miles this year as the tighter U.S. economy means fewer people are pulling up roots to move to new homes, company officials said.

Atlas World Group President and Chief Operating Officer Greg Hoover said shipments declined 10 percent January through November, USA Today reported Wednesday.

United Van Lines spokeswoman Jennifer Bonham said the moving business "follows the real estate market."

Business at United was down 16 percent this year, representing 35,000 fewer shipments, she said.

Company data show a migration out of Florida -- a sign of the economic times, said Drew Klacik, a policy analyst at Indiana University Center for Urban Policy and the Environment.

"Some people are moving out because they can't support the second housing option," he said.

The data show an exodus from the Midwest, hard hit by slowdowns in the automotive industry. Sixty-seven percent of all moves with Michigan as an endpoint involve people leaving the state, the companies said to the newspaper.

Retirement and corporate moves are down and new technology has kept people from moving.

"One of the things that we continue to find is that people are moving less because of work because we can telecommute," Bonham told USA Today.