Lane
Car shipping from New York to Los Angeles
The coast-to-coast benchmark. New York to Los Angeles is the most travelled long lane in the country, and that volume works in your favour: more trucks competing means better rates per mile than almost any other route of comparable length.
The route
Carriers pick their path across the middle of the country depending on weather and what else they are carrying. Your vehicle will be one of eight or ten, and the trailer will fill and empty progressively as it crosses.
What moves the price on this lane
This is where distance works for you: the per-mile rate on a 2,900-mile run is the lowest you will see anywhere, even though the total is the largest. Enclosed transport is genuinely available here — a lot of valuable cars move between the coasts, so the trailers exist in a way they do not on secondary lanes.
Season
Winter is the variable. Snow across the Rockies and the plains can add days, and no amount of paying more prevents it. Summer runs are the most predictable.
The other direction
Westbound and eastbound both run heavy. Rates are broadly symmetrical, unlike the seasonal lanes where one direction carries a clear premium.
New York to Los Angeles
Questions specific to this lane
Ten days seems long. Can it be faster?
Occasionally, but be sceptical of anyone promising it. Federal hours-of-service rules cap how far a driver can legally go in a day, and a full trailer has other stops. Seven to ten days is the honest range.
Is enclosed worth it on this lane?
If the car warrants it, this is the best lane in the country on which to book it. Availability is good and the premium is proportionally smaller than on a lower-volume route.
Moving a vehicle New York to Los Angeles?
Send the route and the vehicle and we will price this lane today.