Car Shipment Time
Many factors can affect the time it takes to ship your car. When shipping your car, it is important to be realistic and proactive. You will get your car shipped faster if you book open carrier transport. Why? Transports with enclosed carriers are less in demand. This means it could take longer for a truck to be available.
Several factors influence the time it takes to drop your car off and pick it up at your new address.
Localization
Your car shipping time will be affected by your location first. What are you shipping to? It will take less time to receive your vehicle if your route includes major cities and is well-traveled. It will take longer to receive your car if you ship to a small town or remote area.
Season
Next, consider which season you would like to ship in. Two reasons are why the season is important. First, if you're shipping to a place that is notorious for snowfall and blizzards, it may slow down your car shipment. The weather plays an important role in driving conditions, speed and roads. Therefore, the winter months can slow down your car shipment. Second, certain months are more popular than others.
Due to the snowbirds and vacationers, spring is very busy for car shipping companies. This can work for you or against your advantage. You may find it easier to book your car shipment if you plan ahead. If you don't take action to book your car shipment, it may be difficult to find a company that's not fully booked. So, we recommend that you call us as soon as possible to get the process underway.
Traffic
This factor is often associated with weather and season, but traffic can be unpredictable due to things like accidents or police activity. With intuitive driving apps like Waze, traffic is more predictable than ever. These apps alert drivers to traffic ahead and provide alternate routes to avoid getting stuck.
Traffic delays can sometimes be unavoidable, even if alternate routes are available. One example is Memorial Day weekend. This is a problem that cannot be included in your initial transit time estimate.
Although a general traffic estimate is included, it is not possible to calculate traffic during shipment transportation based on specific traffic conditions.
Drivers Hours
The legal hours that a driver is allowed to work will also impact the time it takes for your car shipment to arrive. It is illegal for drivers to drive more than 11 hours per day. This was made possible by the Electronic Logging Devices mandate, which came into force two years ago.
Drivers used to be able to drive for longer periods of time and would often do so, driving 16 hours per day. Electronic devices are installed in each truck to monitor and report how much driving each driver does daily.
Drivers who are behind schedule cannot drive longer than they should. This restriction on how many hours a driver can drive can cause car shipments to take longer than usual.
What number of other cars are there on the carrier?
The number of cars an auto transport driver must deliver to your car will also impact the time it takes. It will take longer to deliver your car if there are eight or nine cars on the same carrier as your car.
Conclusion
When determining how long it takes for your car shipment to transit, there are many factors. Because it is impossible to predict the length and duration of your shipment, you will receive a delivery window.
Plan ahead and be proactive. You should be prepared for the possibility that your shipment arrives a day later than you expected. If this happens, it won't have an impact on your daily activities.