To the
naysayers who believe the most recent legislative session was a huge success, I
would like to illustrate the disaster in dollars and cents.
The U-Haul
company understands how to make money in the marketplace by renting moving vans
and trucks to people who want out of this craziness. A colleague of mine did a
little research as he pondered moving from Illinois to Arizona.
He called
U-Haul on the day after the legislative session ended and noticed over 1000
people had contracted for vehicles going outbound from Illinois. He was
interested in renting a 20-foot cargo truck from Marion----and drive it to Oro
Valley Arizona.
So here’s
what he found.
To rent the
truck and go to Arizona from here would cost him $1846 dollars one- way. But if
he was renting the same truck and driving from Arizona to Marion, the cost
would be $879 dollars. Yes, U-Haul has a one-thousand dollar mark-up for anyone
leaving Illinois on their way out. Conversely, it’s a heck of a deal for anyone
wanting to move in.
U-Haul
understands supply and demand. It’s a wonder they have any vehicles left in
Southern Illinois. But if the company is shrewd, they will pay their workers to
drive all the inventory they have in the Mid-west to Illinois. With their
current pricing, they will make a mint.
I’d love to
see Mike Madigan’s investment portfolio.
It wouldn’t
surprise me if he’s got stock in U-Haul, Allied Van Lines, Mayflower and Ryder.
Mike, when I moved my Mom & Dad down to Texas it WAS cheaper to rent 3 26 ft trucks from Dallas drive to Alton load and return plus gas both ways and mileage and still saved $$. I left in 1980. Sad
ReplyDeleteU-Haul’s business plan has always been that a “local” rental - truck returned to where it’s picked up - is much less expensive than “one way” - rent here, drop off there. It makes a nice story so long you don’t dig into the facts, yes?
ReplyDeleteSue,
DeleteBoth of these were one way, 6 days and 1870 miles. It was picking up on the same date. One was picking up in Marion, IL and dropping in Oro Valley, AZ and the other was picking up in Oro Valley, AZ and dropping in Marion, IL.
Apparently he did. As he stated a ONE way the opposite direction is less than 1/2 the cost.
ReplyDeleteHe didn’t state that. He said renting in Arizona and driving to Illinois is cheaper. If we’re moving out of Illinois to Arizona, one can infer it’s a two-way, “local” rental.
DeleteUhaul has rate determinations based on amount of equipment in an area...if there are many truck in one city, and too few in another the system tries to keep equipment on the road by discounting rates. Has nothing to do with what State Legislators pass or not. Seems to me Illinois is trying to keep folks free instead of oppressing us with more restrictions on our freedoms.
ReplyDeleteSo does that mean you are moving out of the state then? Don't toy with my emotions like this Mike. I need to know! I will throw a party!
ReplyDeleteAlso, can you stop whining about things and actually make well reasoned and thought out reports? Asking for a friend.
Gordy? Is that you who wrote this?
DeleteWell, this should be a really easy one to check then. Is there a 1000 dollar markup to leave Illinois? For that specific example, yes. For other examples, no. Let's say I wanted to take the same truck to Fresno, CA from Marion, IL. The cost is $2053 to Fresno, $2994 to Marion. So already we have disproved that there's a substantial mark-up. In this case, the inverse is true. Let's take a look at some other cities, shall we?
ReplyDeleteMarion to Indianapolis: 359 away from Illinois. 267 to Illinois.
Marion to Nashville: 365 away from Illinois. 203 to Illinois.
Marion to Cleveland: 800 away. 686 to Illinois.
Marion to Seattle: 2118 away. 1400 to Illinois.
Marion to Buffalo: 738 away. 755 to Illinois.
U-Haul rates are determined by a number of factors: Distance traveled, local tax rates, number of days, a little supply and demand. Just because you found an example that fits your narrative doesn't mean that your narrative is correct. And also it should be stated that just because demand is high to leave the state in your anecdotal example, it doesn't mean that that fear is justified. There are a lot of hucksters like yourself that spend their days scaring people over and over, trying to control perceptions through fear.
I gotta say, I didn't think I'd hear such a great case for price-fixing from you. I never realized you were a secret commie.