When it comes to auto transport, there’s only two different types of companies that you’ll be dealing with for longer than two minutes - auto transport brokerages and auto transport carriers. It’s important to know the differences between the two, and it’s also important to know which auto transport company does what in the process of your auto transport. In this article, we’ll discuss the different types of auto transport companies and their roles within the auto transport industry, as well as give you some times on choosing the best auto transport company for you.

The first type of auto transport company out there is the auto transport carrier, and this type of auto transport company is perhaps the most important in the entire industry because they’re the ones that are actually driving the truck your vehicle is loaded onto to where it needs to go. They utilize online load boards to find their freight on the routes they drive, so the auto transport is wholly dependent upon them to get the freight moved. They are the where the buck stops, so to speak.

The second type of auto transport company is the one that you will primarily be dealing with: the auto transport brokerage. These auto transport companies are - and should always be - the companies that you want to deal with, because without brokerages the auto transport carriers wouldn’t have anyone to find freight for them. See, most auto transport carriers are day-to-day on the road - they don’t have the time to stop and look for people who need auto transport and then call them or e-mail them with a quote, then wait for them to get back to them. It would take way too long and auto transport carriers just don’t have the time - time is money to them, and the quicker they can find a load and complete it, the quicker they can do another one. Therefore, most auto transport carriers will rely on auto transport brokerages to find the customers for them, and that’s where the auto transport brokerages take over.

Auto transport brokerages post their loads on an online load board where carriers can quickly search the city that they are in at a truck stop or from their phone for loads that they can pickup, ensuring that their trucks stay full and they stay on the road. Not only that, but they make the auto transport process much quicker - most auto transport companies boast a one to seven day pickup window from the time you book your order, which is actually pretty quick considering the times it would take if auto transport brokerages didn’t exist.

They also handle all the paperwork and most of the money in a given order, and that’s important to know - auto transport carriers want as much as they can get from you to move your vehicle, so auto transport brokerages help to regulate the prices by offering a good compromise between the auto transport customer and the auto transport carrier. While they take their fee out, it would still be much cheaper in the long run were you to book your auto transport with an auto transport brokerage as opposed to an auto transport carrier.

Ultimately, auto transport brokerages help manage the auto transport industry and make the experience a relatively stress-free one for most customers.