A mid-2026 market study reveals that surging fuel and thin hauler margins pushed driver pay per mile up over 22%, sparking widespread shipment cancellations and forcing brokers to absorb substantial rate gaps.
- Carrier pay spiked 22.8% year over year, driven by a sudden surge in retail diesel prices starting in March after the Strait of Hormuz closed to shipping.
- Consumer prices climbed 14.6%, meaning freight brokers shouldered roughly one-third of the rate jump rather than passing the full cost on to customers.
- Booking disruptions escalated significantly, with cancellations rising 24.8% and post-booking repricing climbing 46% as initial quotes failed to secure trucks in a fast-rising market.
- SUVs dominate personal vehicle shipping at 43.9% of volume, while per-mile hauling costs remained far higher for short moves ($2.04 per mile) than long cross-country hauls ($0.55 per mile).
Market volatility that's sparked runaway transport costs across all segments hasn't overlooked auto haulers.
U.S.-led geopolitical conflict, climbing carrier pay and surging diesel fuel costs pushed the cost to move a vehicle across the country in the first half of 2026, ending two years of flat rates.
According to a nationwide market study released by SGT Auto Transport, carrier pay per mile jumped 22.8% year-over-year during the first six months of 2026.
Carrier pay for car shipping rose faster every month from March 2026. It ran 9.2% above the prior year in January and 11.7% in February, then 14.9% in March, 32.8% in May and 34.7% in June. The carrier pay increase was broad, not concentrated in one segment. Every distance band above 500 miles rose between 21% and 24%, pointing to an input cost affecting the whole carrier base at once.
During the first six months this year, consumer pricing climbed 14.6%, indicating auto freight brokers absorbed nearly one-third of the cost increase rather than passing the full increase on.
"A broker sits between the customer and the truck, so we see both sides of every price," said SGT Auto Transport CEO Jack Savov. "That is what makes this different from load board reporting we can show what carriers were actually paid and what consumers were actually charged, on the same shipments, over the same months. In the first half of 2026 those two numbers stopped moving together, and that gap is the story of the year in car shipping."
The sudden rate surge began abruptly in early March when military strikes stalled maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Following the closure, retail diesel fuel jumped 32% within a single month (from $3.72 per gallon in February to $4.92 in March), ultimately cresting at $5.60 per gallon in May.
The fuel shock landed on a hauling sector already operating under thin margins. According to the American Transportation Research Institute, carrier operational expenses reached an all-time high of $2.336 per mile in 2025, leaving average truckload margins below 1%.
"Carriers earning about a penny per mile could not absorb a diesel shock," the report noted. "In 2026, they stopped trying."
Market friction and cancellations rise
The fast-moving price environment led to upheaval across vehicle shipments. Cancellations jumped 24.8%, while the share of completed moves repriced after initial booking climbed 46%.
The primary catalyst was that initial customer quotes became obsolete before haulers were secured. Orders canceled specifically because quoted rates were too low to attract an available driver more than tripled, climbing from 1.45% of total bookings to 4.64%.
The increase in carrier rates was consistent across all trips longer than 500 miles, with segments recording increases between 21% and 24%.
Distance dynamics and vehicle trends
The report highlighted persistent industry misconceptions about per-mile pricing. With fixed overhead for loading, securing, and inspecting vehicles, short trips averaged higher costs per mile than cross-country trips. Moves between 100 and 499 miles averaged $2.04 per mile (averaging about $623 total), compared with $0.55 per mile for hauls of 2,500 miles or more (averaging about $1,534 total).
Other prominent shifts across vehicle shipments in 2026 include:
- The rise of the SUV: Sport utility vehicles comprised 43.9% of all passenger vehicles shipped, while traditional sedans fell to 27.9%.
- EV volume expands: Electric vehicles accounted for 5.5% of shipments, led by Tesla at 3.8%. Rising pump prices drove consumer demand for pre-owned electric models.
- Drop in enclosed transport: Enclosed carriers, with an average price premium of 32.3% over open-air haulers, fell from 13.4% of total moves to 11.2%, as consumers economized amid rising base rates.
- Later bookings: While median advance booking held steady at five days, 38.5% of consumers required carrier pickup within two days of booking, up from 34.9% the prior year.
Migration and flow imbalance
The dataset, drawn largely from residential moves (76.9% originating at private homes), documented strong regional migration imbalances. Utah, South Carolina, Illinois, Arizona, and Texas saw the highest net ratios of vehicle inbound-to-outbound deliveries. By contrast, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington, Massachusetts, and California logged the highest net vehicle outflow.
The most pronounced seasonal cycle—the annual "snowbird" migration to and from Florida—peaked as usual. In October 2025, Florida received 2.25 vehicles for every car departing, before reversing to an outflow ratio of 0.44 by April 2026 as seasonal residents headed north.
