International Car Shipping Blog

What Affects Ground Transportation Rates In The U.S.?

Written by Alex Naumov | July 16, 2015 at 9:05 PM

Shippers are paying more to move cars in the United States.

Should transporting a car within the United States be quick and inexpensive? We do our best to make sure it is, but sometimes the market dictates its own terms. 

Whether its new regulations, shifting seasons, rising diesel prices or driver shortages, all can affect the ease with which your car will be picked up and delivered.

What the market is currently experiencing.

The demand for shipping continues to increase while capacity remains tight throughout the industry. What's causing the constrains? According to the American Trucking Associations, there is a shortage of at least 35,000 to 40,000 truck drivers in the United States.

The driver shortage is driving up the cost per mile from $1.65 in 2008 to current levels of $1.87.

Equity research firm Avondale Partners expects trucking prices to increase by another 4 to 9 percent in 2015.

Due to the seasonal shift of drivers, demand for ground transportation in the East or South of the U.S. continues to outgrow the number of drivers available. 

Future outlook.

Shippers are likely to continue seeing increasing trucking rates in the U.S. We are constantly updating auto ground transportation rates in our calculator to reflect the market conditions.

You can always see up to date ground transportation rates on our car shipping calculator.

Sources: TruckingInfo, JOC