Why Short-Distance Car Shipping Can Be More Expensive

Short-distance car shipping can cost more because many carrier expenses don’t shrink with mileage. Fixed overhead, loading time, idle delays, and empty return miles weigh heavier on short routes, raising the per-mile rate even when total distance and fuel use are lower.

At AmeriFreight Auto Transport, the question of how much short-distance auto transport comes up often, especially from customers moving a vehicle a few hundred miles or less. The total bill may look lower than a cross-country move, but the rate per mile is often higher. That difference is not arbitrary. It reflects how carriers actually operate, what costs do not scale down with distance, and where time gets lost.

Short-haul shipping exposes inefficiencies that long-distance routes quietly absorb.

Fixed Costs Do Not Shrink With Mileage

Every carrier runs with a base level of expense that exists before the truck moves an inch. Truck payments. Trailer payments. Insurance. Permits. Licensing. Compliance systems like IFTA filing. These are fixed costs. They do not care whether a truck runs 200 miles or 2,000.

On a long haul, those costs spread across a lot of miles. On a short haul, they stack up quickly.

A carrier running a 1,500-mile route can dilute those fixed expenses across several days of driving. The same carrier running a 200-mile job still pays the same insurance and equipment costs for that day. The only way to recover them is through a higher per-mile rate or an Absolute Minimum Charge, often called an AMC.

This is the first point many people miss. Distance shrinks. Overhead does not.

Loading Time Matters More Than Driving Time

Short-distance moves are time heavy and mile light.

The work required to load a vehicle is mostly the same regardless of distance. VIN scan. Condition report. Ramp adjustments. Securing the car. Staging the trailer. These steps take time, focus, and labor whether the vehicle is going across town or across the country.

On a long-distance haul, loading might take a few hours and then the driver spends days rolling. On a short haul, loading and unloading can consume most of the driver’s legal workday.

Federal Hours of Service rules limit how long a driver can work and drive. If five hours disappear into pickups and drop-offs, there is limited time left to generate mileage revenue. That lost driving time becomes opportunity cost. The carrier prices it in.

This is why short routes often trigger an AMC even when the mileage looks modest.

Idle Time Quietly Raises the Bill

Idle time is one of the most expensive parts of short-distance shipping.

Local and regional moves often involve urban congestion, dealership delays, residential access issues, or tight pickup windows. Trucks sit. Engines idle. Drivers wait.

Fuel burns without adding miles. Equipment wears without progress. Diesel particulate filters suffer. None of this shows up on a mileage calculator, but carriers feel it immediately.

Long-haul routes spend more time at steady highway speeds. Short-haul routes stop and start. That difference pushes variable operating expenses higher per mile on short runs.

Idle time is not wasted time for the carrier. It is billed time.

Deadhead Miles Hit Harder on Short Routes

Deadhead miles are miles driven with an empty trailer. They are one of the biggest cost drivers in auto transport. In one study, these miles account for almost a quarter of all miles driven by private fleets. 

On dense national lanes, carriers can often line up a backhaul. Drop in one city. Reload nearby. Keep rolling. This is where route density and load bundling work in the customer’s favor.

Short-distance routes do not always offer that luxury. A delivery to a rural area or a low-volume market may leave the carrier with no immediate return load. The truck drives back empty.

If a carrier delivers a car 150 miles away and deadheads 150 miles back, the real cost is based on 300 miles of fuel, labor, and wear. That risk gets priced into the original shipment.

Deadhead miles do not show up on your quote line item, but they shape it.

Route Density Shapes Rates More Than Distance

Two shipments with the same mileage can price very differently.

A 300-mile run between major metro areas often costs less per mile than a 150-mile run into a low-density region. High-volume lanes support backhaul matching and triangle haul strategies. Low-volume lanes do not.

Carriers prefer routes where they can stay loaded. When a short-distance route disrupts that flow, it carries a premium.

This is also why some short shipments feel expensive even when fuel prices are low. The cost driver is not diesel. It is network friction.

Vehicle Size and Weight Limit Capacity Utilization

Trailer space is finite. Axle load limits are real.

A standard sedan fits cleanly into a carrier’s layout. Larger vehicles do not. SUVs, trucks, vans, and electric vehicles take up more space or push weight limits faster.

On long hauls, carriers have more miles to recover the lost capacity from an oversized vehicle. On short hauls, they do not. If one vehicle reduces capacity utilization by blocking another spot, the revenue loss concentrates into fewer miles.

That is why size and weight premiums feel sharper on short-distance shipping. The carrier has less runway to absorb them.

Enclosed Transport Magnifies Short-Haul Inefficiency

Enclosed transport already costs more due to equipment expense and limited capacity. On short routes, those constraints tighten.

Enclosed carriers run fewer units per trailer. They also face more loading time per vehicle. When distance is short, the ratio of handling time to driving time spikes.

The result is a higher per-mile rate compared to open carrier service on the same route. This is not a markup. It is math.

Central Dispatch and Real-Time Bidding Favor Long Hauls

Most carriers source work through load boards like Central Dispatch. They evaluate loads based on revenue per day, not just revenue per mile.

A long-distance load locks in income for several days. A short-distance load requires constant reloading and repositioning. Even with a higher per-mile rate, it may lose out to a longer job unless priced aggressively.

To compete for carrier attention, short routes must offer a premium that offsets the hassle and uncertainty.

This is why quotes for short-distance car shipping can feel counterintuitive. They are competing against long-haul alternatives, not against fuel cost alone.

Short Notice Compounds the Premium

Expedited or short-notice shipments raise rates across all distances, but the effect is stronger on short routes.

A last-minute short haul often forces a carrier to break an efficient route pattern. Detours increase deadhead risk. Idle time increases. The opportunity cost rises again.

Carriers price urgency as disruption, not speed.

Why The Short-Haul Premium Is Not Going Away

Technology helps. Load bundling. Better dispatch software. Smarter triangle hauls. These tools reduce empty miles and improve efficiency. They do not eliminate fixed cost absorption, idle time, or Hours of Service limits. Those pressures remain structural.

Short-distance car shipping will continue to carry a higher per-mile rate because the work does not scale down cleanly with distance. Understanding that reality makes quotes easier to evaluate and decisions easier to trust.

Disclaimer

The information in this guide is for general reference only and does not replace the official AmeriFreight Auto Transport terms and conditions. All vehicle shipments, rates, timelines, and services are subject to those terms. Estimates may change based on market conditions, carrier availability, and vehicle details. By requesting a quote or booking service, you agree to be bound by AmeriFreight’s terms and conditions.