Getting your vehicles from the manufacturer to the dealership shouldn’t be a difficult process. However, thousands of miles and countless barriers along the way often contribute to roadblocks.
When you utilize professional automotive transportation solutions, you can get your vehicles quickly, safely, and affordably.
What Are the Four Different Methods of Automotive Transportation?
There are four different methods of automotive transportation that you should know about: air, rail, sea, and ground. It’s quite common for automobiles to experience at least two different methods of transportation en route to the dealership.
Let’s explore each method in greater detail so that you can make the best decision for your inventory:
Air Transport
Transporting automobiles by air is uncommon but still possible. This method of transport is usually reserved for exotic, expensive, or one-of-a-kind vehicles that require special treatment.
For instance, vehicles in a major auto show may be transported by air. Another example involves the limousines within the fleet of the President of the United States -- these executive vehicles are all transported via cargo plane for overseas trips.
Rail Transport
On the other hand, transporting automobiles by rail is extremely common. In fact, it is estimated that around 65% to 70% of all new vehicles sold in the United States will travel by rail as a part of the journey to the dealership. When transporting vehicles via train, the units will be placed onto an autorack. These racks typically have two or three decks that carry around 12 units on average.
When transporting cars, a three-deck auto rack will be used. When transporting larger SUVs and trucks, a two-deck auto rack will be used. While a train can successfully transport a wide range of different products, there are also dedicated auto transport trains that have as many as 70 different auto racks.
In total, these trains can carry more than 800 units at a time -- making it an efficient transportation option for automobile dealerships.
Ground Transport
Ground transportation is another common method of transportation for automobiles. Believe it or not, but every automobile is transported by truck at some point in its journey to the dealership. That being said, ground transportation is often used as the last leg in the transportation process with an average trip distance of around 250 miles.
There are trucks that are specially designed to transport automobiles. Most of these trucks consist of a double-decker trailer with ramps that can carry up to 12 units at a time. While this might seem like a straightforward process, it’s actually more complicated than it looks.
On a truck, vehicles need to be strategically arranged for optimum transport. For instance, vehicles need to be arranged based on size. Additionally, vehicles need to be arranged based on a schedule.
If some vehicles are being delivered before others, they cannot be loaded first. This process takes a considerable amount of time and planning -- anywhere from 90 minutes to four hours depending on the vehicles involved and the skill of the driver.
Speaking of the driver, a highly skilled driver is necessary to ensure a smooth loading and unloading process. Moreso, skilled drivers help promote the safe transport of all the units on the trailer. It’s also important to remember that the best drivers aren’t necessarily the fastest.
Instead, you can expect reputable drivers to be able to drive around 500 miles a day.
Sea Transport
A large number of automobiles are imported into the United States -- $192 billion in 2018. Oftentimes, these units come from overseas countries like China, Japan, South Korea, and Germany. So when ground and rail transportation isn’t possible, and air transportation is impractical, transportation by sea is a solution.
There are special ocean vessels called pure car carriers (PCCs) that are designed to hold large numbers of vehicles. Some of these vessels can carry as many as 8,000 units at a time although most carry between 4,000 and 5,000. These ships can either be roll-on/roll-off or lift-on/lift-off. Roll-on/roll-off ships, also known as RORO ships are rolled or driven on and off the vessel. Lift-on/lift-off ships or LOLO utilize cranes to lift the units on and off the vessel.
Things to Consider When Shipping Automobiles by Ground
As you now know, ground shipping is the final and arguably most intricate part of automobile transport. For this reason, you need to carefully consider a variety of different factors to ensure a successful final leg.
Here are some things you should keep in mind when shipping automobiles by ground:
Sizes and Types of Automobiles
When shipping automobiles by ground, you need to consider the sizes and types of the vehicles being shipped. Similar vehicles that are around the same size and type can be easily transported together as a unit.
This means that cars should be shipped with cars, trucks should be shipped with trucks, and SUVs should be shipped with SUVs.
Type of Transport
Another thing that you need to consider when transporting vehicles is the type of transport you’re using. By far the most common method of ground transport involves an open trailer.
While this may seem risky or even dangerous for such precious cargo, vehicles are safely and successfully delivered through this type of transport on a regular basis.
Protective measures can be used to further protect the units, for instance, using plastic wrap or even tarps to shield the vehicles from the hazards of the road. If you’re transporting luxury vehicles that need extra protection, you may want to consider using an enclosed trailer to ensure that the vehicle arrives at the dealership in perfect condition.
Safety and Security
Loading a bunch of units onto an open trailer that is then driven on major roads at high speeds may look risky but it’s actually quite safe when done correctly. Units should be secured at four different locations for a seamless journey.
In fact, vehicles are specifically manufactured with these tie-down points for a simple and safe process. At the end of the day, the driver is directly responsible for the security of the units in their possession throughout the ground transportation process.
Timeframe
Due to the relatively short distances of ground transport for automobiles, the time frame can be quite efficient. For example, most journeys are less than 1,000 miles long and most drivers can cover around 500 miles a day.
So generally speaking, you can expect the ground transport of your cars to take anywhere from two to five business days. However, some transport companies may offer express shipping options to dealerships to transport units within 24 to 48 hours.
Cost
It’s hard to nail down a cost for ground vehicle transport due to all the different factors involved. Things like unit size, shipping distance, transport type, time of year, and the cost of fuel all impact the cost of transport.
For the most accurate pricing information, you should contact automotive transportation services directly for an exact quote based on your unique specifications.
What to Look for in an Automotive Transportation Service
Before you reach out to the first automotive transportation service you find, you need to make sure that you receive the right fit and the best service. As a result, you need to consider factors like network, efficiency, and reliability when choosing a transportation partner.
Network
A transportation service provider is only as good as its network. For this reason, you need to look for a provider that has an extensive and experienced network of professionals that they use to get your cars from origin to destination.
For instance, RPM is in a network of more than 30,000 monitored and vetted carriers that cover full truckloads, singles, inoperable, and specialized vehicles to meet all your needs.
Efficiency
A transportation service provider should understand and uphold your timeline. Time should not be wasted in the processing or loading stages. This is why RPM offers instant on-boarding and quick load matching that contributes to a 98% on-time delivery rate.
Reliability
Finally, a transportation service should be reliable and trustworthy. RPM offers responsive customer support to answer all your questions from beginning to end -- and our results speak for themselves. We deliver thousands of shipments a day totaling more than 80,000 units a month.
Final Thoughts on Automotive Transportation Solutions
While shipping automobiles by ground may not be easy, there are companies out there that have the experience and networks necessary for a seamless process. So before you deal with another damaged or late shipment, reach out to the transportation professionals at RPM for a specialized quote.
Sources:
US Car Imports - Sales by Key Manufacturer 2018 | Statista
Do I Really Need an Enclosed Car Carrier? | Move.org
The Right Way to Tie Down Your Hot Rod for Towing | Motor Trend
