TAMPA, Fla. — The moving industry is coming off its worst slow season since 2008 due to high interest rates causing people to hang onto their homes longer, according to Wade Swikle, owner of 2 College Brothers Moving, Storage and Franchising in Tampa.

What You Need To Know

  • Moving industry coming off its worst slow season since 2008

  • Industry tied to home real estate market which has slowed due to high interest rates

  • 2 College Brothers Moving owner hosting two-day event in Tampa expected to draw 250 owners 

  • The slow-moving season runs from October to April

“A lot of companies are struggling right now and they’re having a hard time getting through the slower season,” he said. “I’m just seeing a lot of people liquidating trucks or going out of business and it’s sad to see.”

The slow-moving season runs from October to April.

Swikle, 33, began his moving company in 2012, while attending a master’s degree in entrepreneurship program at the University of Florida. He has since grown the business to include three locations, 35 staff members, a 10,000-square-foot warehouse and 18 trucks.

“The moving industry, in at least Tampa Bay, is fairly insulated,” he said. “We’ve been lucky enough to live in this part of the country where a lot of people move to.”

Swikle hosts a podcast where he talks to industry leaders and said nationally across the board sales have been down about 30 percent because of high interest rates.

“It’s tied to home interest rates because we primarily move people who are buying or selling a home,” he said. “There’s definitely a shakeout happening in the industry, but the companies that can hang on we expect to grab market share.”

Swikle said his sales dropped between 20 to 30 percent at the end of last year but has since returned to a steady level. A Lithia homeowner who’s moving to Pittsburgh hired 2 College Brothers Moving who packed a truck with his belongings on Tuesday.

“There are people that are actually still moving. Not everybody is frozen with the interest rates,” said Swikle. “Some people are still buying and selling homes but it’s definitely decreased a lot.”

The homeowner, Odell Jones, said he and his wife are moving from Florida to be closer to family and it made sense financially.

“We’re buying up there. We sold here, made a little profit,” he said. “We’re buying a similar sized house, half the price.”

In order to strategize on overcoming the challenges the industry has been facing, Swikle is co-sponsoring an event called the Moving Titan Retreat at the JW Marriott in downtown Tampa on Thursday and Friday.  

“We’re going to be talking and addressing some of the issues that a lot of companies are going through,” he said. “In order to just lift up the entire industry and all band together in order to get through an otherwise difficult time.”

It will feature 14 speakers and is expected to draw 250 moving company owners from the United States and Canada. Swikle said he’s hopeful the industry will bounce back and predicts a big surge in business when interest rates drop.

“That’s going to flood the market,” he said. “Summertime is coming up and this is the best time for moving companies across the country to prepare for hopefully interest rates dropping but also for a busy season that might save their companies.”