How Much Does An Auto Transport Broker Make?

The auto transport industry is a big, complicated, and growing industry. At first glance, you’d think it’s just people sending vehicles from point A to point B, but when you get deeper into the subject, you’ll find a lot of nooks and crannies that work together to make this complex system work.

Because it’s such a big and complex industry, auto transport can provide many employment opportunities for people with different experiences, training, and even life goals. Take the vehicle moving agent: this is a person behind the scenes who essentially has to oversee the client’s shipments to ensure they go through properly, sometimes using a combination of carriers. Their responsibilities can vary greatly and can come with different levels of complexity.

It’s a complex job, and statistics show there is a need for it, as the number of broker jobs has increased by around 14% since 2014. But for those considering making a career jump, the burning question is this: what much do these people make?

Let’s Look At The Numbers

There are plenty of openings for vehicle shipping representatives. Of course, the salary depends on the size of the company one joins, one's experience, type of employment (full-time or part-time), and even the location where one works.

A broker working for a company with only a handful of small clients will likely earn a lot less than brokers who handle shipments worth millions of dollars. Additionally, there are different levels for being an auto-shipment broker. You can be the individual who oversees the entire process from start to finish, or you can simply be one smaller piece of a much bigger puzzle.

According to Indeed, the national average salary for a hauling broker in the US is around $61,680 a year, with an additional compensation of $28,400 a year for commissions. For comparison, the average broker salary in Alabama is $51,330 per year, while a broker in Alaska only makes an average of $39,620 per year.

These jobs play a critical role in the auto shipping industry. They essentially ensure that a company or manufacturer can ship its vehicles without interruption, keeping the supply chain going.

What Is A Dealer's Actual Role?

The auto transport broker is the person (or company) that book orders to ship people’s vehicles. They receive these orders and then coordinate with a carrier to see it through. The carrier is the player that actually owns the trucks for transit, hires the drivers, and has the equipment to keep the vehicles in place.

Brokers receive a commission from the carriers by providing them with a car or motorcycle shipment order. General freight brokers usually get paid per load, which is around 25-35% of the load, though it can depend on the broker. Auto transport brokers, on the other hand, will receive their fees based on the number of cars hauled. They have a moving fee that can range anywhere from $100 to $300, but the major factor that determines how much money they make:

• The mileage of the transport
• The location where the shipment needs to arrive, which may complicate the process
• The additional services the client needs for the shipment, such as sending in a closed container to keep the vehicle safe, limit the broker's options for carriers, so they’d need to do additional research to find appropriate carriers.

People can find it difficult to distinguish between the representative and the carrier (also, since many brokerage companies have pictures of truck fleets to present a different idea of what they are), there’s also another layer to add to the discussion.

The Car Hauling Company

There are carriers, there are brokers, and then there are car haulers. What’s the difference?

Well, these companies handle the entire auto shipment process, from coordinating car shipping to talking to clients and keeping them updated to resolve problems that may arise.

The auto transport company is like a merger between the carrier and the broker. They handle everything, which also means they are usually large companies that operate nationally and have a lot more staff on their payroll.

Auto transport brokers can work for these types of companies, which handle everything (and have their own fleet), or for smaller brokerage businesses that collaborate with multiple carriers. Since these larger companies offer a more comprehensive array of services, they are also usually much cheaper, which makes them more convenient for the client who needs to have their vehicle sent.

If you work for such a company, the job itself becomes a tad easier, since you don’t have to deal with multiple companies operating under different company policies. Here, all the drivers are employed by the same company that hired you, which can greatly facilitate communication between you and the other staff members involved in the transit.

What Qualifications Do You Need To Be An Agent?

Though the broker doesn’t actually prepare, load, and drive the vehicles for transport, they still need to be very familiar with the entire process.

Usually, their top priority is to arrange shipping and track the vehicles as they’re being delivered. They will also:

• Research carriers to verify if they are reliable, up to code, and can generally handle the requirements of the transport;
• Coordinate timing of available loads so shipment can be delivered on time;
• Communicate with the client.

There are many broker jobs where all they ask for is a high school diploma, but this directly affects how much you get paid, as it’s likely you won’t have a lot of complicated responsibilities. Some companies want a person with higher education, preferably in logistics or supply chain management, especially if you’re dealing with bigger clients that have higher demands, like a car manufacturer.

To become a broker, you must pass an exam offered by the Transportation Intermediaries Association, allowing you to operate as a transportation agent in any industry. For the car industry, you don’t need any additional qualifications. In this case, it’s essential to understand how pricing in the auto industry works, and how volatile these prices can be.

Check The A-1 Auto Transport Representative Directory.

The world of auto shipping is big enough to accommodate everybody, even if here at A-1 Auto Transport, we like to take care of the entire process ourselves. It’s our secret to do the job well every time, as there’s little room for mistakes when you don’t have to deal with any third parties.

Still, if you’re thinking about joining the industry and are looking for a job as a vehicle-sending agent, you can check our directory for some of the best broker companies out there. These are reputable, trustworthy companies you can trust, both as an employee and even as a client.