Nudged by a recovering economy, a hot housing market and better jobs, more Americans are moving this summer, national moving companies report.

At the full-service interstate moving company Bekins Van Lines, the rise is in both private and government moves, said marketing director Kimberly Warren, with corporate relocations up 8 percent to 10 percent compared with this time last year.

"We have seen an increase in both shipment size and the number of shipments this summer," which is traditionally the busiest time for moves,

Watkins added.

"We see traffic from the Northeast going down to the Southeast, and in the Midwest we see an even split of tonnage that moves into the Southwest and Southeast," she said. "We see a lot of Sun Belt movement, so a lot of our traffic patterns tend to be one way."

The uptick is similar at Mayflower and United Van Lines, said Jennifer Bonham, spokeswoman for both. "This year we've had a much higher demand for relocations than in the past five years," she noted, with demand outpacing that of 1999, the highest year since the companies combined in 1995.

Mayflower and United expect a 2 percent to 3 percent increase in moves compared with 1999, when 1.87 billion pounds of goods were transported.

Whether it's across town or across the country, 43 million Americans move every year, a number that's held relatively steady, Warren said. Of that number, 17 million to 20 million may relocate this summer, according to U-Haul.

Unlike the demand growth that Bekins, Mayflower and United Van Lines are reporting, business has been steady at do-it-yourself mover U-Haul, spokeswoman Joanne Fried said. U-Haul recommends calling ahead at least two weeks to reserve a moving van or truck.

Bekins, United and Mayflower recommend giving a four-week notice.

A U-Haul medium-sized 17-foot truck moving the contents of a two-bedroom apartment from New York to St. Louis in early July would cost $1,488.

A typical residential, full-service move from Mayflower or United Van Lines costs $3,650, with an average of 6,784 pounds traveling 1,321 miles, Bonham said.