Relocation Volumes Budgets | 2015 Survey

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Corporate Relocation
Survey
2015

Survey History Intro & Results (42 pages, 3.4 MB) Summary & Charts (186 pages, 6.6MB) Press Release

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More Relocations Last Year, More Expected in 2015, Budgets Finally Rebounding

Last year brought gains in relocation volumes: nearly half of all companies saw increases. More than half of mid-size and large firms reported increases, as did over a third of small firms. Over half of firms across company size saw international volumes increase indicating international relocation activity levels universally increased, although overall relocation volumes trended lower for small firms in comparison to larger ones. Few saw volume decreases, either overall or internationally. Expectations for 2015 are positive: nearly half anticipate further increases overall and internationally. Mid-size and large firms are more optimistic; small firms relocating internationally are more positive compared to small firms overall (42% vs. 31% expect increases).

While volumes increased following the Great Recession, budgets did not keep pace. However, nearly half of companies last year reported budget increases, a significant jump from the roughly one-third or fewer firms with post-recession increases. Mid-size firms were most likely to see budgets swell, and mid-size and small firms saw larger increases than did large firms compared to the previous year’s percentages. Almost half of all firms believe their budgets will increase again in 2015, with mid-size and large firms showing the most optimism. Few firms expect budget decreases.

The median numbers of relocations remained at historical, non-recessionary norms for large firms (200-399). However, the medians ticked upward for small firms (10-19 vs. 1-9) and mid-size firms (50-99 vs. 20-49).
The greatest growth in relocation occurred among international firms; more than half reported increases in both overall volumes and budgets. More than half expect both volume and budget increases in 2015, while just over a third of regional and national firms are as optimistic.
Across industries, more manufacturing/processing firms (59%) and financial firms (55%) reported increases in overall relocation volumes. Manufacturing/processing firms were the most likely to see corresponding increases to budgets (58%) and to expect budget increases (57%) for 2015. Nearly two-thirds of manufacturing/processing firms last year saw international relocations increase as well.

Question 1

Number of employees relocated in 2014