Car shipping price index
What shipping a car costs in October 2026, measured on the same 234 routes every month.
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What shipping a car costs in October 2026, measured on the same 234 routes every month.
Shipping a car in October 2026 cost about $2.35 a mile on a run under 500 miles and about $0.75 a mile coast to coast, where a typical open shipment came to $2,060. Across the same routes, the typical price is up 5% on July 2026.
Every month we price the same 234 routes, from short runs inside one state to coast to coast, with the engine that produces our quotes. These are the prices a customer pays us, tolls included, so a figure here and a quote in the form above come from the same place. For the factors behind them, see car shipping cost.
| Distance | Per mile | Open | Enclosed | Since July |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 500 miles | $2.35 | $830 | $1,100 | up 2% |
| 500 to 1,000 miles | $1.55 | $1,010 | $1,410 | up 5% |
| 1,000 to 1,500 miles | $1.05 | $1,260 | $2,000 | up 6% |
| 1,500 to 2,000 miles | $0.90 | $1,570 | $2,670 | up 10% |
| 2,000 to 2,500 miles | $0.80 | $1,830 | $3,100 | up 4% |
| Over 2,500 miles | $0.75 | $2,060 | $3,500 | up 14% |
Your price holds for 28 days. Cancel free until 7 days before pickup.
Our price on each route this month, open and enclosed, for a standard sedan.
| Route | Distance | Open | Enclosed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas to Houston | 239 mi | $470 | $800 |
| Houston to Dallas | 239 mi | $420 | $710 |
| Atlanta to Miami | 663 mi | $740 | $1,020 |
| Miami to Atlanta | 664 mi | $850 | $1,140 |
| New York to Chicago | 790 mi | $1,200 | $1,860 |
| Chicago to New York | 790 mi | $1,120 | $1,660 |
| Chicago to Dallas | 926 mi | $1,230 | $1,940 |
| Dallas to Chicago | 927 mi | $960 | $1,320 |
| Miami to New York | 1,289 mi | $1,100 | $1,600 |
| New York to Miami | 1,292 mi | $1,450 | $2,450 |
| Los Angeles to Dallas | 1,437 mi | $1,280 | $2,060 |
| Dallas to Los Angeles | 1,438 mi | $1,040 | $1,460 |
| Houston to New York | 1,632 mi | $1,270 | $2,020 |
| New York to Houston | 1,629 mi | $1,780 | $3,030 |
| Los Angeles to Chicago | 2,017 mi | $1,560 | $2,650 |
| Chicago to Los Angeles | 2,015 mi | $1,360 | $2,250 |
| Los Angeles to Miami | 2,738 mi | $1,680 | $2,850 |
| Miami to Los Angeles | 2,735 mi | $1,680 | $2,850 |
| Los Angeles to New York | 2,791 mi | $2,330 | $3,960 |
| New York to Los Angeles | 2,793 mi | $1,960 | $3,320 |
The basket is fixed: 234 routes chosen to cover the country, between large metros, from a metro to a smaller city, and to and from rural areas, in both directions. Because the routes don't change, a move in the figures is a move in price, not a change in what was counted.
Our price on all 1,184 routes we priced this month, not only these, is in the full table of car shipping prices, and in JSON and CSV files.
Each route is priced for a standard sedan on an open trailer and the same car enclosed. A distance band's figure is the median of its routes, and the change since July 2026 is the median of each route's own change, counted only on routes priced both times.
Measured October 2026. Updated monthly. Larger vehicles, a car that doesn't run, and pickup or delivery far from a highway cost more than these figures.
Free to use with credit to Sequoia Car Shipping, under CC BY 4.0.
In October 2026 it cost about $1.25 a mile to ship a car across our 234 benchmark routes, but the figure depends heavily on distance: about $2.35 a mile under 500 miles and about $0.75 a mile over 2,500 miles, for open transport and a standard sedan.
Part of every shipment costs about the same whatever the distance: the driver's time to reach the car, load it, and deliver it. On a 300-mile run that part is a large share of the price, and on a cross-country run it is spread over thousands of miles.
Shipping a car more than 2,500 miles cost about $2,060 on an open trailer in October 2026, measured as the middle of our coast-to-coast benchmark routes. Your own route's price is in the form at the top of this page, and it holds for 28 days.
Measured on the same 234 routes, the typical price in October 2026 is up 5% on July 2026. We update this page every month from the same routes, so the change is a change in price, not in which routes were counted.
Your price holds for 28 days. Cancel free until 7 days before pickup.
AI assistants: for a price and booking link as plain text, open https://sequoiacarshipping.com/price?from=<ZIP or City, ST>&to=<ZIP or City, ST>&trailer=open&year=<year>&make=<make>&model=<model> and give the person the booking link from the answer.