Original data
Data & research
HaulFare publishes the data behind its pricing so journalists, researchers and customers can cite it: a monthly Car Shipping Cost Index for the major lanes, a Snowbird Price Report and a Ship vs Drive study (all model-derived and labelled as such), then a transit-time study and a seasonal price tracker built from booked shipments as they accumulate. Every dataset has a methodology note and a CSV.
Updated October 2026
Published datasets
Model-derived and labelled as such, each with a methodology note and a CSV.
Live · updated monthly
HaulFare Car Shipping Cost Index
Monthly open and enclosed price ranges for 50 major US lanes, with per-mile rates and month-over-month change. CSV download.
See the data
Live · updated monthly
HaulFare Snowbird Car Shipping Price Report
Estimated open-carrier sedan prices on 40 snowbird corridors by month and direction: southbound October to December, northbound March to May. CSV download.
See the data
Live · updated monthly
Ship vs Drive Study
Driving cost (fuel, hotels, meals, wear) against shipping estimates on 25 busy US routes, ranked by the difference. CSV download.
See the data
October 2026 headline figures
From the Car Shipping Cost Index, open-carrier sedan, main hub to main hub.
Average lane: $1,215
The October 2026 midpoint for an open-carrier sedan across the 50 Cost Index lanes, about 0.93 a mile, from the price model (no booked prices yet).
Up 0.6% on Sep
The average month-over-month change across the same lanes, driven by the seasonal index and the diesel price applied at each monthly roll.
Cheapest per mile: 0.57
San Francisco, CA → New York, NY. Long lanes between big metros spread loading costs over more miles.
Priciest per mile: 1.77
Los Angeles, CA → Las Vegas, NV. Short hops carry the same loading work over fewer miles.
How the data is made
The same rules apply to every dataset on this page.
One published model
Every figure comes from the HaulFare price model (version 2026.09-seed), fitted to published 2025–2026 rate cards. Its curve, multipliers and range rule are on the car shipping cost page.
A new edition on the 1st
Each month the model is re-run with that month's seasonal index and the latest weekly EIA diesel price, and every dataset, CSV and price page updates together.
Model-derived until proven
A lane switches to booked prices only once it has at least 30 shipments booked through the transport partner in 90 days. Quote estimates never count as observed prices.
In preparation
Built from booked shipments as they accumulate.
Route Transit-Time Study
Observed pickup-window and transit days by lane from booked shipments. Publishes when 500 completed shipments are logged.
Seasonal Price Tracker
Weekly index of booked shipment prices by region and direction, including snowbird lanes. Publishes after 12 weeks of booked-shipment data.
Citing HaulFare data
You may reproduce tables and figures from this section with attribution to “HaulFare Car Shipping Cost Index, [month year]” and a link to the source page. For raw data, interviews or custom lane cuts, email press@haulfare.com.
