Auto Transporters

When it comes to finding the right auto transporters, chances are you’re looking around the internet, trying to find the perfect one for you. But what auto transporters are you looking for exactly? Chances are you’re looking for auto transporters that actually ship the vehicle - but chances also are that you won’t be booking with those types of auto transporters. You’ll want to book with auto transport brokers, not carriers, because those are the companies that have the time to dedicate to their customers. In this article we’ll discuss auto transporters themselves, why you don’t want to book with them, and what exactly they do for you.

Auto transporters, for purposes of this article, are companies that actually move the vehicles for the customers. Unlike auto transport brokerages, auto transporters actually move the vehicle - they typically don’t work out of an office, unless they have a dispatcher in a central location finding them loads to move. This actually isn’t uncommon, but auto transporters are more concerned with what’s on the road and what loads they can take in the near future. Because of federal laws, auto transporters can’t talk on the phone while they are driving - therefore, talking to customers is relatively difficult. Auto transporters will contact customers a few hours ahead of pickup and delivery, but other than that, they usually don’t talk to customers - they leave that up to the auto transport brokerages, as they work primarily out of an office.

Auto transporters utilize a website called Central Dispatch to find loads from brokerages. Central Dispatch is exclusive to auto transport brokerages and auto transporters - customers aren’t allowed, sorry. But this is only because it’s a massive load board, where auto transport brokerages can post their customer’s vehicles and auto transporters can pick the ones that fit in their schedules and then book with the auto transport brokerage. Likewise, auto transport brokerages can search around for auto transporters and try to find some in a customer’s specific pickup location.

Auto transporters basically live on the road 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It is an industry with few stops - a few weeks here and there to stop at home, but the rest of the time is spent on the road. Therefore, auto transporters are constantly on the move, so they don’t have time to advertise on the internet like auto transport brokerages. Auto transporters rely on the auto transport brokerages to find the freight they can haul, and the auto transport brokerages rely on the auto transporters to move the freight that the customers book with them.

At the end of the day the relationship works fairly well, and the best part of it is that customers, by booking with auto transport brokerages as opposed to auto transporters directly, save a lot of time and money because they’re constantly in contact with the auto transport brokerages, meaning more peace of mind during their auto transport and less expenses at the end of the day.