Shipping a car is something that few people have done. Many people have likely used some form of short haul car transport – typically a tow truck. But when it comes to hiring an auto shipping company for local car shipping services, it’s not as great as you might think.
That’s not to say that short distance car transport isn’t a thing. It totally is! If you’re trying to ship a vehicle locally, either within a metro area or within your state, say, it’s doable. It’s absolutely doable. Finding someone to transport your vehicle any distance is as simple as a quick online search.
But, like with anything you purchase, you want to get what you pay for. When it comes to local car shipping, there are usually better methods than your standard open carrier, or even a nationwide enclosed carrier.
Read on to learn all about short haul car transport and what it means for you.
What is short haul car transport?
In a nutshell, short haul car transport is what you get when you ship your car short distances. Of course, “short distance” is relative – for some, a short distance is a few hundred miles away. Maybe it’s within the state they live in. For others, though, it’s distance as measured by time. “A few hours away,” maybe.
For auto shippers, short distances are a few hundred miles at most. Anything within a day’s drive is relatively short distance for most car haulers.
The beauty of auto transportation services is that they’re available nationwide. No matter where you’re shipping from or to, there’s a carrier on the road that’s running that route and can help you out.
But that doesn’t mean carriers want to go everywhere. In fact, most stay along preferred routes and don’t stray too far off their chosen path. This impacts the availability of short haul car transport services, which we’ll get to in just a bit.
When you are transporting your vehicle, keep in mind that short distances are usually a few hundred miles. Shipments that travel shorter routes tend to be cheaper overall, but can cost more on a per-mile basis. We’ll discuss that in a moment as well.
About short haul car transport prices
As we mentioned, any carrier is willing to ship a car short distances – the money just has to be right. That’s what it always comes down to for auto shippers. Money. How much can they make per car? Is the route they are traveling profitable? Are there other vehicles that can replace ones that are moved while they are traveling along it?
These are important questions that car carriers have to answer. And, for the most part, local car shipping services don’t get it done for most of them. That’s why the majority of carriers on the road travel across the country. It’s more cost-effective. Short distance car shipping prices tend to be much higher on a per-mile basis than longer-distance shipments. Think of it this way: a shipment of 3,000 miles may only cost an individual 30 cents per mile. But a shipment of 300 miles will likely cost close to a dollar a mile.
Why is it this way? It’s simple: it’s how carriers keep cars on their trucks. We’ll discuss the economics of it and why carriers price the way they do in a moment. But for now, know that local car shipping services will cost more on a per-mile basis than longer shipments, but will still be cheaper overall.
The economics of car shipping
Auto transporters have to keep prices as low as they can possibly be while still turning some kind of profit. Many carriers run on razor-thin profit margins that give little wiggle room for extraneous trips or shipments.
Note that all of this is for open shipping. As most open car carriers can move ten cars at a time, it’s the most economical way for auto shippers to move freight. By hauling ten cars at a time, a car carrier can charge less per vehicle while still making profit on the route.
They can’t do this for local moves, though. Local shipments are often last-on-first-off, meaning they get loaded just before a carrier is heading out, and they’re dropped off well before anyone else. It takes at least a few hours from pickup to drop off and they need to be fairly compensated for that, especially if they don’t have a vehicle to replace it.
Many carriers will plan their shipments in advance, which can work out well for customers in need of short distance car moving. But it’s best to talk to an expert about it, as they can give you more information about your specific shipment.
Is local car shipping right for you?
If you have to ship your car, you have to ship your car. There’s no other way around it. But sometimes, it may just be better to tow it as opposed to ship it.
Anything within about 50-100 miles of your pickup location will likely be cheaper to hire a tow company than a car transporter. There’s a few reasons for this. The biggest is that you’ll just save money. When you ship your vehicle with an auto transport company like us, you pay them for their services, and you also pay the carrier for their services. This adds up.
So when you’re shipping a short distance, either in-town or in-metro area, a tow company is usually best. They’ll be cheaper, they’ll be faster, and you won’t have to worry about waiting for your shipper to find a carrier for you.
But shipments any further than a couple of hours away will likely be cheaper if you ship with an auto shipper. Towing a vehicle is cheap…until it’s not. And when it’s not, it gets really expensive really quick.
Interested? Let's get in touch!
For local car shipping, contact American Auto Shipping.
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.
