Market Trends That Are Affecting the Car Shipping Industry

1. The Aftermath of COVID
2. Lack of Available Carriers
3. Autonomous Vehicles
4. The ELD Mandate

Understanding the future of any industry inevitably involves some element of foresight and looking forward to what’s likely to change in both the current year and years to come. The car shipping business is no different in that regard in that it is also subject to change along with supply chain developments, as well as changes in vehicles themselves. Just over the past several years, we at A-1 Auto Transport have already seen an uptick in the number of requests to transport electric cars and hybrids—something that reflects the changing tastes of consumers as they adapt to new technologies. With a focus on the future of auto transport, here are some major trends that are forecasted to shake up the industry in this year and years to come.

The Aftermath of COVID

The COVID pandemic had far-reaching consequences that impacted virtually every segment of society, particularly supply chain effectiveness, which in turn drove up demand and prices for many consumer goods. As inflation made the situation even worse for consumers, they started spending less, travelling less, and buying fewer cars. All these factors have had an effect on the auto transport industry which saw a downturn in the number of requests for service during this time—something that the industry is only starting to bounce back from. While things have started to return to normal, there is no guarantee that outside factors like another pandemic, an environmental disaster, or even a spate of train derailments that we have seen recently could cause another decline in transport services.

Lack of Available Carriers

Since the industry experienced less demand because of the factors mentioned above, there have been fewer drivers hired within the industry, as well as fewer trucks available to haul vehicles. This is not uncommon in any industry and things do generally spike upward as demand returns, but it’s particularly concerning in the car shipping world since lack of drivers and trucks means that consumers can’t always find the services they need, and if they can, it’s often at a higher price than in the past.

A-1 Auto Transport is one of the leading transport companies working in the car shipping industry. With more than 20 years of experience, we’ve seen and done it all when it comes to delivering vehicles to every corner of the United States. We not only provide excellent nationwide transport for all types of vehicles, but we do so at a fraction of the cost of our competitors! To learn more about what we offer, of if you’d like a FREE price quote for transporting your vehicle, call us today at 1-888-230-9116!

Autonomous Vehicles

Another factor that plays into the lack of new drivers hired in the industry is the expectation that autonomous vehicles will eventually take over the transport industry, including car shipping. While that is still a long way off, there will no doubt be some implementation of autonomous or self-driving vehicles within the industry at some point, which could scare off potentially employees that might otherwise see driving a transport carrier as a high-quality and secure career path.

The ELD Mandate

The Electronic Logging Mandate or ELD was written into law at the end of 2019 and it definitely shook up the future of car shipping. Essentially, it digitized the trucking logs that all motor carriers must submit and made them easier to monitor and regulate. In many ways, this was a good thing in that it ensured that drivers were getting the appropriate amount of rest and breaks while spending long hours on the road. However, it also eliminated the ability of drivers to put in a couple extra hours here and there to ensure quicker delivery times. As a result, delivery times slowed and people that needed a car shipped ended up paying slightly more.