Why Is Car Shipping So Expensive? 2026 Cost Breakdown

Five things set the price in late 2026:

1. Truck operating costs: a record $2.336 a mile in 2025, according to ATRI.
2. Diesel: $6.276 a gallon in the week of October 19, 2026, against $3.620 a year earlier, according to the Energy Information Administration.
3. Tighter truck capacity: the Cass Truckload Linehaul Index was up 10.1 percent year over year in September 2026.
4. Fewer drivers ahead: under a federal rule in force since March 16, 2026, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration expects about 194,000 drivers to leave the freight market over roughly five years.
5. Season and direction: the same 1,000-mile trip runs about $850 to $1,060 in February and $985 to $1,225 in July in the model.

What does it cost to run one truck?

ATRI surveys carriers every year. Its 2026 update, covering 2025, puts the average cost of operating a truck at $2.336 per mile, the highest in the report’s history and up 3.4 percent in a year. Excluding fuel, costs rose 4.2 percent.

The line items come from trade-press summaries of the full report. Margins are thin: ATRI found truckload carriers operating below 1 percent.

How much of a truck’s cost does each car carry?

On a nine-car open load, ATRI’s $2.336 per truck mile works out to about 26 cents per car per mile. Federal rules let states cap a standard auto transporter at no less than 65 feet and a stinger-steered one at no less than 75 feet, which limits how many cars fit on one trailer. Add the miles a truck drives empty or off route to collect each car, the hours spent loading, specialized car-hauling equipment and the broker’s fee, and even a 2,500-mile trip lands at about $0.55 to $0.68 a mile in the model.

Short trips cost more per mile because the same pickup, inspection and loading work is spread over fewer miles:

Vehicle size counts the same way: a pickup takes more deck space and weight, so 1,000 miles runs about $1,090 to $1,355 against $895 to $1,115 for a sedan.

Why did car shipping prices rise in 2026?

Four costs rose at once in 2026: diesel, freight rates, driver supply and insurance.

Diesel. The U.S. average on-highway diesel price jumped from $3.897 to $4.859 a gallon in one week of March 2026 and reached $6.529 in the week of September 21, 2026, the highest weekly figure in EIA’s series going back to 1994. EIA’s October 2026 Short-Term Energy Outlook expected it to stay above $6 through October and then ease gradually.

Truck capacity. Spot rates for general freight climbed through 2026. DAT reported dry van spot rates of $2.21 a mile before fuel in early September 2026, up about a third from a year earlier. Car haulers compete for the same drivers and trucks.

Drivers. A federal rule in force since March 16, 2026 limits commercial licenses for drivers who are not domiciled in the U.S. to a few visa categories. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration estimates about 194,000 of those drivers will leave the freight market over roughly five years as their licenses come up for renewal, though it does not put a figure on the effect on rates.

Insurance. ATRI found trucking liability premiums rose 36 percent per mile over eight years, even as truck crashes declined.

The HaulFare price model applies diesel at each monthly edition. It passes 10 percent of the change against the $5.60 May 2026 baseline into every estimate, so each $1 a gallon moves our figures by about 1.8 percent, not by the full jump at the pump.

Who sets the price you pay?

Many car shipments are priced through brokers, who post each car at a price for the lane. Carriers running that route take the load or pass, and a car posted below what the lane pays can sit unclaimed until the price rises. That is why quotes for the same trip can differ, and why a very low quote often means a longer wait rather than a cheaper trip. For a referral through HaulFare, the licensed transport partner confirms the actual price.

Why do the season and direction change the price?

Demand swings by month and by direction. Snowbird lanes show it most: shipping a sedan from New York to Florida in November runs about $1,070 to $1,335, while the same trip north in November runs about $870 to $1,080, because trucks need loads to bring back. The cheapest time of year to ship a car goes through the calendar month by month.

How can you make car shipping cheaper?

Five choices move the price in the HaulFare model: flexible dates, open transport, a running car, a metro meeting point and shipping against the seasonal flow.

• Flexible dates. A wider pickup window lets a carrier fit your car into a route it already runs.
• Open over enclosed. Enclosed costs about 42 percent more in the model; most daily drivers ship open.
• A running car. A car that needs a winch adds the model’s $150 inoperable fee, for example about $1,030 to $1,280 for 1,000 miles.
• A metro meeting point. Pickups far from a highway hub add up to $175 per end in the model.
• Timing against the flow. Shipping south in spring or north in fall usually costs less on snowbird lanes.

A quote far below these figures deserves questions: ask whether it is a confirmed price or an estimate, and whether any deposit is due before a carrier is assigned. How to avoid car shipping scams lists the warning signs. Check any figure against the car shipping cost guide and the monthly Cost Index, or price your exact ZIP codes in the cost calculator.

HaulFare is a price guide and referral service, not a broker or motor carrier. Quote requests go to our licensed transport partner, an FMCSA-licensed auto transport broker, who arranges transport with FMCSA-registered carriers. HaulFare receives a referral fee from our licensed transport partner; you pay HaulFare nothing.