Roughly October through April is cheaper than May through September, and the difference is substantial rather than marginal. Within any month, midweek beats the weekend and the middle of the month beats either end. Moving demand is concentrated into a summer peak, and anything you can do to step outside that peak is worth money.
- Summer is peak season because it fits school years and lease cycles, not because it is easier.
- Month-end is the busiest window in any month, because most leases turn over then.
- Midweek is consistently cheaper and easier to book than a Saturday.
- Flexibility of a few days is worth more than flexibility of a few miles.
Why summer costs more
Almost everyone who has a choice moves in summer, because it fits around school years and because most leases are written to end then. That concentrates a year of demand into a few months, against a supply of trucks and crews that does not expand to meet it.
The consequence is not only price. Availability narrows, the good crews book out first, and the flexibility to reschedule if something goes wrong disappears exactly when you are most likely to need it.
The pattern inside every month
Leases overwhelmingly start and end at month boundaries, so the last few days and the first few days of any month are the busiest window there is. If you can take possession mid-month, you are competing with far fewer people for the same crews.
The same applies to the week. Weekend slots are the ones everybody with a job asks for first, and they price accordingly.
What moving off-peak actually costs you
Winter weather is the real trade, and on some routes it is a serious one. A northern route in January can mean delays that are nobody's fault, and a delay with a truck full of your possessions is worse than an expensive Saturday in July.
Shorter daylight matters more than people expect too. A loading day in December is genuinely shorter than one in June, which occasionally turns a one-day job into two.
One timing question that is not about the truck
If you are crossing a state line, the calendar year you move in has consequences beyond the moving quote. You will generally file a part-year return in the state you left, and the split between the two depends on when residency actually changed.
On a move between two states with very different income tax positions, that timing can be worth considerably more than any seasonal discount on the truck. It is worth checking which way it points before fixing a date, and worth asking someone who knows your situation if the numbers are large.