How Open Auto Transport Became the Standard
The auto transportation industry has been around since almost the invention of the automobile itself. Despite the fact that cars are meant to be driven, there are times when a particular vehicle cannot be, and it needs to be trucked somewhere instead, like any other common piece of freight. This is called auto transport and while the industry may be rather niche, it is awfully important to the success of people and businesses in this country and around the world, and there are always people who need to ship a vehicle no matter what time of the year or the costs associated with them. It’s these customers that keep our niche industry going the way it does, because they keep carriers in business by feeding them load after load after load. To maximize on the amount of money they can make, and also the maximize their efficiency overall, auto shippers have been turning to open auto transportation trucks almost since the beginning, and in this article we’re going to discuss some of the merits of open transport and how they affect the shipment of your vehicle(s).
Open auto transport trucks help auto shippers mitigate costs by allowing them to ship up to ten vehicles at a time. This is huge for car shippers because if you’ve even driven from Los Angeles to Dallas you understand how long the trip takes, how boring it is on the road, and how expensive it all was. Auto transport companies don’t drive around compact cars that get 30 miles per gallon, though; they drive huge semi trucks that get 6-8 miles per gallon of diesel fuel, which in many areas is still more expensive than regular gasoline.
Loading up their vehicles with multiple vehicles allow auto shippers to stagger pickup and delivery for different customers, and if they can schedule it properly they can quickly go from one place to another – usually two or three a day – and pickup or delivery vehicles, while collecting cash and being able to keep their trucks fueled and maintained. Stop here, pick a vehicle up, then go a hundred miles or so and drop off a different vehicle, get paid for that, then travel fifty miles to pick up a second vehicle, then continue on their way to the next destination – that’s how open auto transport companies conduct their business.
Open auto transport is the standard method because it allows car shipping to do exactly what we just described. Enclosed containers can only haul a few cars and are typically more expensive to operate and maintain than an open carrier, and they’re also more time-consuming to load or unload vehicles from. Open trucks allows shippers to quickly load or unload a vehicle, sometimes in as little as 10-20 minutes depending on the driver’s experience, and this expedience makes it that much more cost effective to own, maintain and operate an open shipping truck.
Insurance costs tend to be lower for open auto transportation trucks as well, mainly because of the cargo that they ship. Enclosed auto transport trucks may protect the vehicles they ship better, thanks to the container that they put the vehicles in, but insurance tends to be more expensive simply because of what type of damage happens to those vehicles. With an open carriers, dings and scratches aren’t necessarily common, but they’re not uncommon either; when shipping a vehicle you subject it to the same rigors you would if you drove it, just without the wear and tear. This is why open transportation is the standard: it’s cheaper for customers, it’s faster, it’s more cost-effective for carriers, insurance costs are lower, and you can haul more vehicles and make more money with an open truck as opposed to any other kind.
If you need a quote to ship a vehicle, don’t hesitate to fill out our free online quote request form. It’s fast and free, and when you do you’ll see your all-inclusive price to ship right away. Our quote calculator is designed to get your vehicle moved at a great rate and on time, every time. If you have questions, or would rather speak to a person over the phone, you can contact us any time at 800-930-7417 to speak to a representative. They can answer your questions, give you a quote, book your shipment, and much more.
Since 2007 Dave has written all the content and blogs for American Auto Shipping and during this time added the duties of customer support and transport logistics.
He currently resides in Washington with his three kids and their mom and cat. A fan of Marvel movies and good stories, when not shipping cars Dave can be found working on his novel, enjoying a good book or playing some tournament HALO.
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