Customers always want to have at least a ballpark idea of how long they can expect it to take for their vehicle to make it to the destination, and in these next few sections we hope to shed a little light on that as well as explicating some of the nuts and bolts of the vehicle logistics process itself.
Instant Quote for Vehicle Shipment
Quick and Easy Quote Process
No Email or Phone Required
At Axis Auto Logistics, we make it easy to find out what you can expect to spend on your vehicle shipping. No need for a phone call with customer service - just locate the Quote Calculator on our website and use the self-explanatory dropdown box system to put the following information into the system:
- Vehicle year/make/model (tied in with the car’s dimensions and curb weight)
- Vehicle running condition (it costs more to ship an inoperable vehicle)
- Zip codes of starting point and destination (used to calculate mileage of the route)
- Desired timeframe for transport (auto shipping is a seasonal business with peaks and valleys in shipping volume and pricing)
- Desired method for transport
Once these questions are answered, the calculator just needs a few seconds to come up with a rate quote. All quotes are final, with no tacked-on fees or bait-and-switch pricing, and your account won’t be charged until we assign your order to a transport driver.
Factors Influencing Car Shipping Duration
Once the order is assigned and the driver starts on the route, there are any number of things that can have an impact on shipping times.
Route Distance
Impact of Distance on Delivery Times
Obviously the longer the distance, the more time is going to be spent on the road and the longer the delivery timeframe will be. We’ll break that down in more detail in the next few sections.
Location
Urban vs. Rural Area Considerations
Picking up a vehicle or delivering a vehicle to a remote small town or far flung rural area means more miles off the main route (often on 2-lane state or county roads), more windshield time for the driver and more cost/mile charges on the billing.
Accessibility of Major Highways and Interstates
When the US Interstate Highway system was devised in the 1950s and 60s, the goal was to develop a network of roads that could efficiently connect major population centers, with limited onramps and offramps, bypassing most small towns. Our transport drivers know the Interstates very well and take advantage of that efficiency to leverage it into better service for our customers. If it’s possible for you to arrange your pickup point or destination in a city rather than a small town that’s far off the main Interstate route, that can save some time and also shipping charges.
Vehicle Type
Special Requirements for Different Vehicle Types
In most cases, ordinary cars, trucks, minivans and SUVs have fairly standardized shipping timeframes. There are exceptions, though .
Impact of Size and Value on Shipping Time
When it comes to shipping an oversize vehicle like a food truck, a Sprinter van or a modified 4x4 truck with big tires and a lift kit, it could mean assigning your order to a transport driver who has the right kind of equipment and trailer to safely haul that vehicle. The same goes for inoperable vehicles that can’t start, run and drive on their own power; cars that don’t run need a trailer with a winch for loading and unloading.
A very rare classic or valuable luxury car is best shipped via enclosed transport for protection, safety and security en route, and again, finding a transport driver who’s got the right trailer for that job could become an issue that impacts shipping times.
Time of Year
How Seasonal Demand Affects Shipping Times
The auto transport business is cyclical, with calendar periods where we’ll be handling more orders and more transport drivers will be on the road with customers’ vehicles. That has an effect on shipping rates due to supply and demand, and when things are busier it can also be more of a challenge to line up your shipping order with an available driver.
Scheduling the Pickup
Process for Scheduling Vehicle Pickup
Your preferred timeframe for pickup will be part of the information you put into the Quote Calculator, but there is usually going to be a window of time involved. If at all possible, we’ll be there on the exact day you prefer, but it’s best to have some flexibility around that date.
Factors Influencing Pickup Timeframes
- Seasonality and availability of transport drivers along your route
- Type of vehicle to be transported, and desired method for transport
- Supply and demand and its effect on availability of drivers
Typical Pickup Time Ranges (2-7 Days)
As mentioned, we’ll make every effort to dispatch a transport driver to your location on the day you prefer. If that’s not possible we’ll advise you on a possible timeframe to arrange your pickup; it could be anywhere from a 48 hour window to as long as 7 days (in extreme cases). If it’s possible to have some wiggle room on your timing, that would be great.
Scheduling the Delivery
Average Driving Distances and Daily Limits
The Department of Transportation puts a limit on hours of service for transport drivers, and drivers have to be in compliance with these regulations for safety’s sake. The regulations note that a driver cannot put in more than 60 hours in a 7 day period, or 70 hours over 8 days. Taken day by day, a driver would need to not exceed 11 hours per day (although it could be a 14 hour day if only 11 hours were spent driving), and there’s a mandatory 30 minute break after 8 hours of driving. Once the 14 hour period ends, the driver cannot drive again until there’s been 10 hours of rest time.
Calculating Estimated Shipping Time (500 Miles)
In light of those restrictions on driving time, a driver could put in 300 miles per day or under the best circumstances, maybe 500 miles per day. Shipping time calculations and estimates can be based around those performance numbers per day.
Accounting for Unexpected Delays
Just like a road trip with the family, a schedule can be disrupted by things like bad weather, road conditions, detours, construction, traffic congestion or accidents. That’s why delivery times are always estimates and not guarantees. If it does look like your driver is going to be delayed, you’ll be notified by our team and we’ll keep you apprised of the new ETA and any other updates.
Specifying Pickup and Delivery Dates
What date or window of time works best for you? Let us know in your quote request and we’ll do our best to accommodate.
General Pickup Guarantee (7-10 Days)
Is it possible to have some flexibility in your pickup date? That would be best and would give us a better framework for assigning your order.
Specifying Pickup and Delivery Dates
Limitations on Date Specifications
General Pickup Guarantee (7-10 Days)
Booking Your Car Transport
Recommended Booking Timeline (3-10 Days in Advance)
Considering the number of moving parts that have to come together to assign a car shipping order, it’s best to give us around 3 to 10 days to make the right connections and assign your order to a transport driver. It will mean developing a whole route for the driver, with other orders that will be loaded onto the transport trailer and delivered along the way.
Why Not to Book More Than 2 Weeks in Advance
Past a certain point, it doesn’t make good sense to book too far in advance. There are too many uncertainties and variables that can come into play over a 2 week period, many carriers are reluctant to book their routes too far ahead of time, and market pricing can fluctuate over that 2 week span. The sweet spot would be to schedule things 3 to 10 days ahead of time.
General Time Estimates for Car Shipping
Average Delivery Times After Pickup
Once your car is loaded and secured for transport, think about that 300 to 500 mile per day rule of thumb and you can extrapolate from there how long it might take to get your vehicle to its destination. If the driver has 2000 to 2500 miles to cover to make it to the destination, that could be a 7 to 9 day turnaround. Shipping time estimates are loosely based on these performance numbers.
Again, it’s important to remember that schedules can vary and can be disrupted or delayed by unexpected factors, and we’ll always keep you apprised if it does look like things are going to be slowed down.
Factors Influencing Total Shipping Duration
- Weather (which ties in with seasonality, such as hurricane season along the Gulf, the Eastern seaboard and Florida)
- Construction delays and detours
- Hours of service restrictions for transport drivers
- Complexity of the route, especially if it involves many miles off the main Interstates
- Carrier availability
- Desired method for transport
We hope this gives you a better idea of how long you should expect it to take to ship your vehicle, and some of the logistics coordination that has to go into setting up and shipping every order.
