Relocation Survey - Atlas Van Lines

H ANNUAL45ltsH ANNUAL45ltsH ANNUAL45Who Responded?To qualify for participation, a respondent must haverelocation responsibility and work for a company that haseither relocated employees within the past two years orplans to relocate employees this year. Atlas sent invitationsvia e-mail, and 361 relocation professionals completedonline questionnaires between January 10 and March 2.• Most (82%) work in human resources/personnel or relocation/mobilityservices departments for firms in:– service (39%)– manufacturing/processing (30%)– financial (12%)– wholesale/retail (10%)– government and military (2%)– other industries (6%)• For analysis, firms are categorized by size:– 32% have fewer than 500salaried employees (small)– 38% have 500-4,999 salariedemployees (mid-size)– 30% have 5,000+ salariedemployees (large)• Over half (57%) are international firms.For complete results of the “Corporate Relocation Survey,” please visithttp://www.atlasvanlines.com/relocation-surveys/corporate-relocationCorporateRelocationSurvey IntroductionResults HighlightsRelocation Volumes & BudgetsRecovery Gained Traction Last Year;Expectations Stabilizing, Risks RemainIn 2011, relocation gained traction: nearly half of firms saw volumesincrease, and over a third reported budgets increased as well. Largefirms posted the biggest gains – nearly two-thirds had increases involumes and about half had budgets improve. Overall, expectationsfor 2012 show continued optimism far above 2009 recessionary levels.However, expectations for increased volumes remain somewhatmuted compared to 2004-2005, similar to 2006-2008. Expectationsfor increased budgets remain similar to 2010-2011, but are alsosomewhat muted compared to 2005-2008, when roughly a third offirms expected increases. Although the vast majority foresee stabilityand improvement, expectations overall remain somewhat subduedcompared to the last post-recession recovery of the previous decade.Expectations for budgets are fairly consistent across companysize, with roughly a fourth of firms expecting increases and wellover half expecting stability. However, differences emerge in volumeexpectations. Large firms are most optimistic: more than a third expectan increase. For mid-size and small firms, just under a fourth expectan increase, while the vast majority anticipate volumes similar to 2011.However, while the overall expectation of budget decreases remainslow, the 16% or less of mid-size and large firms anticipating decreasesare about double the percentages reported last year, while for smallfirms this is a significant drop from nearly one-fourth.The percentages of firms that expect increased volumes and budgetsmaintain improvement over recent severe retractions, but remainbelow levels reported during previous economic recovery and growthperiods, especially among large firms. This indicates that while therecovery gained momentum last year, it remains subdued.Rather than high growth, expectations are for stabilizationwith improvement, with indications the potential exists toslip back into recessionary territory.• The median number of relocations by large firms finallyincreased in 2011, returning to the “200-399” average rangereported in 2002-2007 after falling to “100-199” in 2008-2010.The median range (20-49) for mid-size firms remains improvedfor the second year, after falling to “10-19” in 2008-2009.• The greatest amount of relocation volume growth occurred forinternational firms, with more than half reporting increases in2011; over a third of regional and national firms saw increasesas well. Roughly a third of firms across business reach indicatetheir 2011 relocation budgets also increased.• International firms are by far the most optimistic for 2012;about one-third expect further increases in volumes andbudgets, while less than one-fifth of regional or national firmsdo. However, the vast majority of these firms expect stability inthis year’s volumes and budgets.International Relocation VolumeExpectations Similar to Overall RelocationWhile slightly less pronounced than overall relocation,international relocation also saw volumes bolstered in2011, with 42% reporting increases. This trend appearsacross company size, with slightly fewer firms indicatingincreases over 2010 compared to overall relocation levels.For 2012, international volume expectations remainimproved compared to 2009-2010 and similar to 2011.More than one-fourth of firms expect increases thisyear, and over half expect volumes similar to 2011.Expectations for increases are greatest among largefirms (37%), followed by both small and mid-size firms(23%). Expectations for increased international volume arenearly identical to expectations for increases in overallrelocation volume across company size. However, whilemid-size firms report similar expectations for increasesinternationally and overall (23%), far more expectdecreases internationally compared to overall volume(18% vs. 7%). This percentage remains near historic nonrecessionarylevels, but may indicate mid-size firmsare likely to pull back relocations internationally beforemaking domestic cuts.• For-profit service firms are more likely to expect internationalvolumes to increase in 2012 than manufacturing/processingfirms (40% vs. 19%).While expectations for overall relocation volumesremain somewhat muted compared to those reportedin previous economic recovery and growth periods,expectations for international volumes are muchlike those seen in 2006-2008 across company size.Question 6: Overall Relocation VolumeCompared to [last year], do you anticipate that the number ofemployees your company will relocate during [this year] will...10080604020016%51%33%16%51%33%20%52%28%14%56%29%18%56%25%52%38%10%26%53%22%13%58%30%12%61%26%2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012Totals greater than/less than 100 are due to rounding.Question 47b: International Relocation VolumeDECREASESTAY ABOUTTHE SAMEINCREASECompared to [last year], do you anticipate that the number of employeesyour company will relocate internationally during [this year] will…10080604020013%57% 57% 57%30%13%29%15%28%39%46%15%17%65%18%16%56%28%16%55%29%2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012Totals greater than/less than 100 are due to rounding.DECREASESTAY ABOUTTHE SAMEINCREASE12