Cheapest Way to Ship a Truck

You’ve Probably Encountered This Scenario:

You need to ship a truck. You do not have a large budget, and you need to find the cheapest way to move it.

Since your delivery will be international (you are shipping a lorry to Canada), you have multiple options available to you. You could transit your vehicle overland, overseas, or by air.

Beyond knowing about these options, you do not know much about hauling or logistics. You want to learn more about how trucks are moved using these different methods so that you can make the most informed decision and arrive at the cheapest option possible.

That’s Where We Step In

We’re an auto logistics company and we’ve helped thousands of people safely ship their vehicles across the world. Take a deep breathe, because this guide is designed with you in mind.

Finding the cheapest way to transit a lorry isn’t hard if you are armed with the right knowledge.

Find A Good Vehicle Shifting Firm

There are many ways to lower your hauling rate on a lorry. Finding the cheapest way will depend on many factors.

We get it, your budget is limited but your truck still needs to be transported. Looking at all the automobile shipping companies online, it can be tough to research different shipping rates and methodologies.

Practically every second blog post you read is an advertisement with a random fact thrown in for “accuracy.” Not here. Here, we will explain to you how you can lower your hauling rates.

Instead, we want to provide you with useful information that will help you get the cheapest price without sacrificing quality.

Here’s What We Recommend You Do

Shop Around For Quotes

It is a simple mathematical fact that the more companies you call up, the better quotes you will receive. The reality is that the auto shipping industry is nothing more than a number game. If you receive a quote to transit a lorry for USD 1000, another company may provide the same service for USD 900 or even USD 850.

It pays to shop around. Certain companies will even match the prices of their competitors. The entire industry is super competitive and most auto-hauling companies want your business, so long as they can turn a reasonable profit in the process.

Consider Multiple Transit Options

Different hauling options have different rates. You generally have the option to shift a truck by land, by air, and by sea. Within each of these transportation options, you have various methods of travel open to you. Each method of hauling your vehicle will differ in price.

If you are hauling your vehicle within North America, you should probably haul your ride by land using either open or enclosed transport methods.

Shipping your vehicle by sea is another common option for international delivery. Large container moves have a lot of space and shipping your lorry overseas is more affordable than you think.

We usually do not recommend that you shift your vehicle by air unless you need it to arrive very quickly, or your vehicle is extremely valuable. This option is expensive and not budget-friendly.

Hauling By Land

The cheapest option is using open-air freight when hauling your vehicle by land. While trucks can be moved this way, your lorry will need to be within the normal dimensions of a vehicle. Small and medium-sized lorry will be fine, but you may have to pay more to transit a larger truck this way.

Think About It Like This

Any truck that requires special accommodations will cost more to ship. The simpler your vehicle is to haul, the cheaper it will be to do so.

If you do not like open-air freight, or your vehicle is too big for it, you can also choose trailer hauling. Your truck will be loaded into a trailer and driven on a flatbed lorry to its destination. This is not as cheap as open-air transport though, so if you want a lower rate, you should use that option.

Flatbed shipping is a popular option for heavy equipment and larger vehicles that don’t fit on traditional open-air loads.

Another option is disassembling your vehicle and moving it in components. This is often unnecessary for overland travel though, as even very large lorry-like ambulances and firetrucks can be shifted in one piece.

But, it is an option in certain situations, especially if you are moving a vehicle with uncommon dimensions, or if a specific country has regulations demanding that a vehicle be disassembled.

Dispatching By Air

When shipping a truck by air, your options are limited. Your lorry will be loaded into a cargo plane and then flown to another airport or landing strip. While using a plane is a very quick way to transit a vehicle internationally, it is also very expensive.

Your lorry will be either driven into the cargo hold of a cargo plane, secured in a container beforehand, or disassembled. Unless you absolutely have to shift a vehicle by air, there really is no cheap option to explore here.

Planes are simply more expensive to ship things in than moves or vehicles.

What planes do offer is a quick way to haul a truck. If you need to deliver a lorry to Europe, for example, and you need that vehicle in Europe within a few days, planes are the best option because they are the only option.

To recap, if cost is a factor, and your car is not some super luxurious, ultra-rare lorry that needs to be in Europe in 15 hours, there is no need to rent a plane. Stick to overland or overseas travel.

Relocating By Sea

When shipping a lorry by sea, you have three main options: “roll-on, roll-off” moving, shared container shifting, and exclusive container hauling. If cost is a factor, shifting a vehicle by sea is generally more expensive than shipping a vehicle by land, and generally less expensive than moving a truck by air.

But Sometimes It Is The Only Sensible Option

After all, you cannot move your vehicle by land if it has to cross the ocean. That makes sense, right?

Here’s What You Can Do

“Roll-on, roll-off” shipping is where your ride will be driven into the cargo hold of a shift, secured, and then moved to another port. Shared container shipping is where your ride will be moved in a container with other trucks. Exclusive container hauling is just like shared container hauling, except your ride will be the only vehicle in that container.

If your car is operational, the cheapest method to use is “roll on, roll off” shipping. If your car is non-operational, the cheapest method to use is shared container delivery.

The Bottom Line

We have outlined five different factors that you can use to lower your rate. While controllable tactics like these are great to learn, some uncontrollable factors are out of your hands. Factors like luck, the price of gas, the backlog of hauling jobs, the number of workers employed by the delivery company, the state you are located in, and more can also affect your shifting rates.

This Is What We Recommend

When searching for the cheapest rate to ship a truck, do not be concerned about getting the absolute cheapest rate.

Instead, it is far more worthwhile to choose a budget range that you are comfortable with beforehand and attempt to arrive at a rate that is within that range. That way, no matter what, you will always be satisfied with the rate.

A-1 Auto Transport has been helping people find the cheapest way to move their trucks for years. A lot of people feel anxious about the shipping process. We want to put an end to that and we are doing that by making it as stress-free as possible.

If you want your ride hauled right, at a competitive price, give A-1 a call today. We aren’t interested in wasting your time, we just want to get your truck shipped at a good price and delivered on time.