Most Popular Auto Shipping Destinations in the U.S.
Knowing the most popular auto shipping destinations in the nation isn’t something that everyone needs to actually know. However, if you’re shipping a vehicle, it might come in handy.
Popular locations to ship either from or to are important for a number of reasons. For example, being able to quickly find a carrier that can ship your vehicle is easier on popular routes. At the same time, when it comes to popular auto shipping destinations, price is more of a factor because of the high amount of volume on the route.
The auto transport industry is route-based. This means that routes that are popular, or even kind of popular, see more trucks on them than those that aren’t. And a route that has a lot of trucks running it makes it easier to find them, which speeds up your shipping process.
Whether you’re looking for cross-country auto transport, shipping up or down one of the coasts, or going from the Midwest to anywhere, this will give you a good idea as to which areas are the most popular and which aren’t.
In this post we’re going to talk about some of the most popular auto shipping locations in the U.S. We’re also going to talk about why they’re popular and what that means for you if you’re shipping to or from those areas. So keep reading, learn a thing or two, and then give American Auto Shipping a call to find out what we can do for you.
Article Overview
Popular auto shipping destinations: Los Angeles, California
When it comes to popular shipping destinations, it’s hard to beat L.A. As the second-largest city in the United States, Los Angeles is a major port and transportation hub and is home to millions of people.
What makes Los Angeles a popular auto shipping location? Its size, for one. With so many people living in the Greater Los Angeles Area, there’s always demand for car transport services into and out of the city. It is supported by numerous state and interstate highways as well as wide surface streets that give carriers easy access to many areas. So, getting around the Greater L.A. area is usually pretty easy.
While population and ease of access are important, so too are the reasons that people ship there. And there are so many reasons that people ship vehicles into or out of Los Angeles. It has a high amount of people moving to or from the area, for instance. It seems that many people move either to or from the city on a daily basis. As most auto transport freight is for people relocating, this gives carriers an easy avenue for steady work.
And there are a lot of reasons to live there. Whether you’re looking for high-end shopping districts, low-income housing districts, beachfront property, or access to more customers for your business, there are a number of reasons people move to and from the city every day.
The problem with shipping to or from Los Angeles stems from, simply, the sheer volume. It’s one of the more expensive places to ship a vehicle – at least, in terms of major cities – simply because of the high demand. We here at American Auto Shipping work hard to balance competitive prices with fair prices, so both you and the carrier get a fair deal.
Popular auto shipping destinations: Miami, Florida
Miami is an interesting location for transportation services. Located in the southeast of Florida, it’s pretty removed from the rest of the country, at least geographically. But that doesn’t stop it from being one of the foremost car transport destinations in the United States.
Though the city proper is home to only a fraction of the population that cities such as Los Angeles and New York enjoy, it has a sprawling metropolitan area surrounding it. Whether it’s Fort Lauderdale or Pompano Beach or even Homestead, Miami’s metro area spans hundreds of square miles and encompasses some of the most popular car transport locations in the entire state of Florida.
But what really makes Miami a popular car transport location is the idea of snowbirds. Snowbirds are people that live in the northern U.S., usually New England, during the spring and summer. But in the winter, they move down south, often to various parts of Florida, and many of them choose to ship their vehicles when they go.
This phenomenon, which we call the snowbird shipping season, is crucial for the industry. It comes at a time when the auto transport industry is at its lowest in terms of volume. If summer is the busiest shipping season, winter is the least busiest. And a significant chunk of the freight available sits along snowbirds routes, often to areas like Miami.
Now, like with most popular shipping areas, Miami gets more expensive on a per-mile basis during the winter months. But that doesn’t mean that it’s not a competitive route. Prices go higher because there’s more volume, but we work hard to make sure that prices are still fair and competitive.
However, if you’re looking to ship to Miami during the fall or winter, be prepared. There will be a lot of other cars on the route, and you need to find a company that can handle the price swings accordingly.
Luckily, it’s still cheaper to ship to Miami during the winter than the summer. It’s always a busy place to ship.
Popular auto shipping destinations: New York City, New York
As the largest city in the United States, it’s not surprising that New York is a popular shipping location, especially during the fall and winter. Like Miami, it’s a popular snowbird location, only for shipping out of. Many snowbirds ship out of the New York area, often to places like Miami or Orlando.
New York, however, is interesting because it has the largest metropolitan area in the United States. Its metro area spans parts of New York State, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. So really, prices to or from that entire region tend to be quite competitive. Competitive in this industry means “high” because competitive means there’s a lot of cars on the route.
The problem with having a high volume of vehicles is that carriers are able to take the highest paying loads first. This skews car shipping prices toward the high end, which can make it harder for customers. However, that’s the market, unfortunately.
Luckily, the effect is kind of mitigated due to the sheer amount of volume coming out of the New York area year-round. It’s not just a popular snowbird area; it’s a popular area in general. So while prices per-mile might be a bit higher than the national average, they’re usually not in flux that often.
What makes New York a popular auto shipping location? The size, mostly. Carriers go where the customers are, and there’s 21 million people living in the New York metro area.
The issue really tends to be with where in the New York area you’re shipping to or from. While New York is one of the nation’s most popular auto shipping destinations, actually getting around it, for carriers, can be a pain. When shipping to or from New York, please make sure your pickup or delivery location is flexible. Carriers can’t get into Manhattan and have a hard time getting to areas like Queens or the Bronx as well.
Popular auto shipping destinations: Dallas, TX
Our last area we need to talk about is Dallas, Texas. This last one was kind of tricky because Dallas shares its popularity with other areas like Atlanta, Chicago, Boston, and Seattle. But Dallas takes the cake for this list because of its location. Atlanta is too close to Miami, Chicago is far north and gets smacked by snow, and Boston is close to New York. Dallas, on the other hand, is easily the most popular location in its region.
There are a few different reasons. It helps a lot that there are millions of people living in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area. It also helps that the city sits along several major interstate highways, and connects easily to other major Texas shipping areas like Houston and Austin.
But one thing that people don’t discuss much – at least, when it comes to Dallas shipping services – is the weather. Unlike Chicago or Boston or New York or Seattle, snow and rain aren’t huge factors for Dallas auto transport services. So carriers can run routes into or out of Dallas year-round without having to worry about being snowbound.
There is an issue with Dallas weather, though, and that’s heat. While not as big a problem as it is in New Mexico or Arizona or even western Texas, heat can still cause issues for trucks. Auto transport trucks have a propensity to overheat, especially older models, if they’re subjected to very high temperatures. It’s not too common, but it happens enough to make a note of it.
That being said, with how big and popular the city is, you won’t have a hard time finding a carrier to ship to or from the Dallas area. Even if your opposite location is a bit removed from a major area, carriers are usually willing to take vehicles on routes like that due to the sheer volume in and out of Dallas.
Make sure to get a quote from American Auto Shipping!
No matter where you’re shipping from or to, we here at American Auto Shipping can help. Just take a minute to fill out our free form or give us a call any time toll-free. This way, you can get an accurate price to or from anywhere in the U.S. and you know you’ll be in good hands from start to finish.
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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