With the spring in full swing, many snowbirds are heading home which leads to chaos in the car shipping industry. April and May are peak season for car shipping with thousands of cars heading north from Florida, Arizona and California. For the unaware customer, this can cause major headaches when trying to relocate their vehicle while competing with the snowbird rush. Rates can increase as much as $200-$300 for a single vehicle.

This leads customers to ask, “When is the best time to ship my car?”. Obviously not during snowbird season, or is it? Actually, the best rates are during snow bird season, but shipping your car in the opposite direction. So, the best time to ship your vehicle South is during the spring, and ship your vehicle North during the fall.  For example, shipping a regular sedan from Florida to Chicago most the year may be around $650. However, in the spring that can go up to $850 or $900, but in the fall down the rate may drop to $500. If you’re shipping your vehicle East to West or vice versa, there isn’t a big difference.

It’s also important to know how long the peak season lasts. Spring is much more difficult to get a car shipped because most of the snowbirds are returning home in only two months, April and May. While in the fall they head south over four months, October through January. Therefore the rate increase for spring tends to be much higher than the fall. Also note, because of sheer volume of cars heading North from Florida to the Northeast (NY, NJ, MA), the backlog of vehicles can run well into June.

So, to wrap it all up, remember the snowbirds. The best time to ship your car is when the snowbirds are going in the opposite direction. Head south in the spring and north in the fall. This will allow  you the best rates and quick service. I know that most people don’t have the luxury of waiting for months to get the best rates, but at least I hope this blog may explain to the unfortunate customer why his auto transport is unusually high in the spring.

Lepke Auto Transport are experts in navigating the chaos of the car shipping industry. No matter what season, or what time limit you need your vehicle shipped, we can accommodate your shipping needs. Give us a call or request a quote on our website.