Auto Transport Industry Statistics 2026: Market Size, On-Time Rates & Key Data

The U.S. auto transport industry moves millions of vehicles across the country every year, but credible, consolidated auto transport industry statistics on market size, pricing, delivery performance, and seasonal demand are rarely available in a single resource. AutoStar Transport Express has operated in this industry since 2007. We compiled data from FMCSA regulatory records, IBISWorld market research, Auto Hauler Exchange's 2026 shipper survey, and additional third-party sources to put together the most complete picture available in one place.

What this article covers:

• The U.S. auto transport market size and what the growth data actually shows
• How many vehicles are shipped each year, and which routes and vehicle types dominate
• What vehicle transport market data says about pricing by distance
• On-time delivery benchmarks and what separates top carriers from the industry average
• Average transit times by distance category
• When vehicle shipping demand peaks, slows, and how that affects pricing

The U.S. Auto Transport Industry at a Glance (2026)

Sources: IBISWorld [1], FMCSA filings [6], EasyCargo Ship [8].

Auto Transport Industry Statistics: U.S. Market Size and Growth

The U.S. auto transport market is valued at $10.5 billion annually by IBISWorld [1], with broader industry estimates reaching $12 billion or more when accounting for the full brokerage ecosystem.

On growth, the data doesn’t support the figure most often repeated.The widely repeated 4 to 6 percent annual growth figure comes from a broker CRM vendor's summary of their own platform activity [2], not independent market sizing. IBISWorld records the market contracting 4.0 percent in 2024 and a further 3.7 percent in 2025, declining at a compound annual rate of between 1.3 and 3.0 percent over the past five years [1].

The contraction has clear drivers: high interest rates dampening new vehicle sales, and a prolonged freight recession that collapsed long-haul truckload demand and pushed spot rates to multi-year lows [1].

IBISWorld does project growth over the next five years [1], with several long-term factors supporting demand:

• Online vehicle purchases through platforms like Carvana, CarMax, and dealer networks
• Military and corporate relocations
• Dealer-to-dealer inventory transfers and vehicles moved from wholesale auctions to buyers
• Seasonal snowbird migration along Florida, Arizona, and Texas corridors
• Expanding EV adoption, which requires specialized carrier handling

How Many Vehicles Are Shipped Each Year?

There is no single government-issued count of total U.S. vehicle shipments per year, but platform-level data offers meaningful scale. Super Dispatch, an automotive transportation management platform, tracked nearly 10 million vehicle moves on its system in 2025 [2]. That’s a large dataset, though not a full industry total.

Among vehicles tracked in the Super Dispatch dataset in 2024, SUVs accounted for 46 percent of all shipments, sedans for 29 percent, and trucks and trailers for 17 percent, followed by vans at 6 percent, coupes at 2 percent, and specialty vehicles including motorcycles, ATVs, and boats or RVs at under 1 percent [7].

79 percent of vehicles on the platform traveled under 1,000 miles [2]. Long-haul moves of 1,000 miles or more accounted for the remaining 21 percent, but they were the fastest-growing segment of 2025 [2].

Regionally, the Northeast saw delivery volume climb 27 percent and the West grew 19 percent, making them the two strongest regional markets heading into 2026 [2]. The New York to Miami corridor was the highest-grossing single route on the platform in 2025, generating $14.2 million in carrier revenue [2].

Source: CCJ Digital [7].

What Determines Car Shipping Costs

Most of the variation between quotes comes down to three variables, plus season.

Source: Super Dispatch [2].

Distance. Cost per mile falls sharply as trips get longer. Across the Super Dispatch platform in 2025, it ran roughly $5.14 per mile for intra-city moves, $2.35 intra-region, $1.82 inter-region, and $0.85 for long-haul [2]. A cross-country move costs more in total but roughly six times less per mile than a short hop across town.

Load size. Single-vehicle shipment prices climbed throughout 2025, while multi-vehicle prices dropped nearly 3 percent as carriers added capacity on high-volume lanes [2]. Savings begin at three vehicles, where per-unit cost drops roughly 30 percent [2]. For dealers, auctions, and fleet operators, consolidating shipments is the single largest available lever on cost.

Transport type. Enclosed carriers hold fewer vehicles than open trailers, so the cost per vehicle is higher. Published estimates generally put enclosed transport 30 to 60 percent above open carrier rates, though no regulator or independent research firm publishes this figure and the estimates in circulation come from transport providers themselves. Treat the range as directional.

Season is the fourth variable, and the pattern is predictable enough to plan around.

Seasonal Demand Patterns in Car Shipping

Vehicle shipping follows a predictable annual cycle. Q2 (April through June) accounts for 30.6 percent of all annual vehicle moves, based on multi-year analysis from one transport company's platform data [8]. Q4 (October through December) is the slowest quarter at 20.8 percent of annual volume [8].

Source: EasyCargo Ship, multi-year platform analysis [8]

Pricing tracks that volume curve. The May through August surge is when carrier capacity tightens and rates rise, typically running 15 to 30 percent above off-season levels.

Snowbird migration creates a secondary demand pattern that runs counter to the summer peak. Snowbirds account for approximately 5.7 percent of each season's shipments [8]. The top three snowbird destination states are Florida (45 percent of snowbird-season shipments), Texas (15.3 percent), and Arizona (9.2 percent) [8].

Customers shipping during off-peak months, particularly February, September, and October, typically find better rates and faster carrier availability.

Average Car Shipping Transit Times by Route Distance

Once a carrier is assigned, transit time is governed less by demand than by federal law.

Transit times have a hard federal ceiling. Under 49 CFR 395.3, a property-carrying driver may drive a maximum of 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty, may not drive beyond the 14th consecutive hour on duty, must take a 30-minute break after 8 hours of driving, and is capped at 60 hours in 7 days or 70 hours in 8 [5]. At realistic highway averages, that puts a solo driver in the range of 400 to 500 miles per day. No carrier can legally beat it.

Transit times reflect average on-truck travel after pickup, bounded by federal Hours-of-Service limits [5].

The figures above reflect average on-truck travel time after pickup. Booking lead time adds 1 to 5 days on top of these figures depending on season and carrier availability, so plan for both. What the industry doesn’t publish is whether carriers actually hit these windows.

Car Shipping On-Time Delivery Benchmarks

It’s worth stating plainly: there is no published, industry-wide car shipping on time delivery rate. No regulator collects one, and no trade body publishes one. What exists is expectation data, and it shows a wide gap.

Ninety-eight percent of shippers expect their vehicle to arrive in under eight days, and nearly half expect delivery in under four [3]. Meanwhile, the average satisfaction score sits at just 6.8 out of 10, according to Auto Hauler Exchange's 2026 survey [3].

Reliability is the central issue. The most common challenge those shippers report is finding a carrier they can trust, named by 46 percent, ahead of cost at 42 percent and speed at 34 percent [3].

That concern is grounded in real risk: 29 percent of vehicle shippers experienced transportation fraud within the past three years, most commonly ghost carriers at 53 percent (fake credentials, disappear after deposit), double brokering at 47 percent (reassigning loads without consent), and vehicle theft at 41 percent [3].

Every carrier in the AutoStar Transport Express network passes DOT compliance review, comprehensive insurance verification, and performance history analysis before any shipment is assigned, and customers receive driver credentials before pickup. That’s a direct answer to the ghost carriers behind 53 percent of reported fraud [3].

The Statistic That Matters Most

The auto transport industry is large, structurally in demand, and currently working through a contraction driven by interest rates and a broader freight recession [1]. But a 6.8 out of 10 satisfaction score and a 29 percent fraud rate make clear that execution varies significantly across providers [3]. For most customers, the most important auto transport industry statistic isn't the size of the market. It's whether the carrier assigned to their vehicle shows up on time, communicates clearly, and delivers without damage.

AutoStar Transport Express was built to meet exactly that standard. Operating since 2007, AutoStar combines AI-powered carrier matching, rigorous vetting protocols, and transparent pricing, and holds a 4.6 average rating across 7,600+ verified reviews on more than 20 platforms, including 5.0 on TransportReviews and 4.6 (Excellent) on Trustpilot. AutoStar serves all 50 states, plus Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and is licensed under MC #600908 and USDOT #2239014.

Last updated: July 2026

Sources

1. IBISWorld. "Vehicle Shipping Services in the US," NAICS 484220 / OD5008. Report last updated December 2025. https://www.ibisworld.com/united-states/industry/vehicle-shipping-services/5008/
2. Super Dispatch. "Super Moves: State of Auto Transport Report." June 2026. https://superdispatch.com/auto-transport-industry-report-statistics/
3. Auto Hauler Exchange. "The State of Transparency in Vehicle Transportation." January 2026. https://www.autohaulerexchange.com/reports/state-of-transparency-vehicle-transportation
4. 49 CFR 387.307, Property broker surety bond or trust fund. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-III/subchapter-B/part-387/subpart-C/section-387.307
5. 49 CFR 395.3, Maximum driving time for property-carrying vehicles. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-III/subchapter-B/part-395/subpart-A/section-395.3
6. Jet Surety, active FMCSA property broker counts, May 2026. https://jetsurety.com/freight-broker-bond
7. CCJ Digital. "The State of Auto Transport."May 2025. https://www.ccjdigital.com/business/article/15746612/the-state-of-auto-transport
8. EasyCargo Ship. "How Vehicle Shipping Demand Changes." June 2026. https://easycargoship.com/how-vehicle-shipping-demand-changes/