Data transfer from HFS to APFS is S-L-O-W

[michael_k]

Are there any tricks for moving data from MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs still on HFS+ to new hardware that uses APFS? The data transfer rates we see moving user data are incredibly slow.

[garybidwell]

Use Target Disk mode via Thunderbolt and do the copying via command to eliminate any Finder overhead.
If you want a bit more feedback then use verbose mode on what ever your preferred command is otherwise it can just sit there no progress or confirmation until it's completed.

I normal find a cp, dd or rsync commands work best