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When it comes to auto shipping costs, there’s a lot to map out. This article breaks down the factors you should consider when determining fair vehicle shipping rates. 

Discover how McCarthy Auto Group uses Auto Hauler Exchange to cut logistics costs, reduce risk, and move wholesale inventory faster—protecting margin and boosting efficiency.

In this article, we’ll break down what to look for in a trustworthy carrier, where to find them, and how to ensure your vehicles are handled by professionals who deliver.

At Auto Hauler Exchange (AHX), protecting your data and your business is our top priority. That’s why we use Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) to secure every account on the platform. 2FA adds an extra layer of protection beyond your password — ensuring that only authorized users can access your AHX account, even if login credentials are compromised.

This guide breaks down how load boards work, who uses them, and what alternatives are emerging for a better user experience.

For decades, brokers were the connective tissue of vehicle logistics. They had the phone numbers, the time, and the “feel” for the market. Dealers and carriers leaned on them because there wasn’t a better option. But, technology has changed. Today, the same tools that transformed retail, banking, and advertising have come to auto transport. Marketplaces like Auto Hauler Exchange (AHX) give shippers and carriers the power to connect directly with more transparency, speed, and control than brokers ever could. So why keep paying broker rates when their old advantages have disappeared?

Auctions are no longer local-only plays. With digital bidding and nationwide sourcing, dealers have more options than ever. A manager in Michigan can buy from Dallas, Denver, or Daytona with a few clicks. The boundaries are wide open. Transportation cost is a big factor that affects your buying decisions at an auction. Freight determines which auctions make sense, which vehicles are worth chasing, and how much gross you can safely protect. Thinking “transport is expensive” might mean you’re overlooking some opportunities to pick up units at auction where the margins actually do pencil out. Let’s take a deeper look at specific ways freight reshapes buying strategy: seasonality, vehicle mix, and margin modeling.

Auto Hauler Exchange (AHX) and Central Dispatch both serve as digital platforms to post loads – but the similarities end there. Central Dispatch operates as a traditional load board, where brokers, carriers, and anyone with access can post and book loads freely, creating what many describe as the “wild west” of vehicle logistics. There’s limited verification, minimal oversight, and little protection against fraud or rate manipulation. AHX, on the other hand, is a true digital marketplace built for transparency, automation, and fraud prevention. Every carrier is vetted, every transaction is verified, and every load moves through a secure, structured system that eliminates the chaos of traditional load boards.

For decades, auto auctions have been the beating heart of the used-car ecosystem. Dealers show up in person or log in online to bid against peers, hunting for vehicles that will turn quickly on their lots. Auctions remain indispensable, but how dealers use them, and the economics of sourcing, have shifted dramatically in recent years.

Winning at auction is the thrilling part. The next step of getting your vehicle off the lot is less glamorous but just as important. Every auction has its own rules for removal, and those rules are what determine whether your pickup is smooth and cost-efficient, or frustrating and expensive. That’s why we built our auto auction directory: to give dealers and buyers a heads-up about what to expect before they bid. In this article, we’ll walk through the main types of auctions you’ll run into, highlight some examples from across the U.S., and point out the details that make a difference when it’s time to arrange transport.

Carriers don’t run their business from behind a desk. They run it from the cab of a truck. That’s why Auto Hauler Exchange was built mobile-friendly: so you can book shipments, access load details, and line up your next job; all from your phone, no broker required. Carriers can manage loads from their phone so they have less empty miles, better cash-flow, and fewer missed opportunities.

Atlanta's auto auction market is one of the most diverse and accessible in the Southeast, offering everything from government fleet vehicles with zero buyer fees to high-volume dealer auctions moving 500+ cars weekly. Whether you're a first-time buyer looking for a reliable daily driver or a dealer seeking inventory, the Atlanta metro area provides unique opportunities that many other markets simply don't offer.

Fraud is an unfortunate reality in today’s logistics industry. With rising attempts at identity theft, fake carriers, and phishing schemes, it’s critical that shippers take steps to protect themselves, their accounts, and their shipments. Auto Hauler Exchange (AHX) was built to reduce fraud risk, but staying vigilant is always the best defense. This guide outlines key steps every shipper should follow.

If you’ve shipped multiple vehicles to the same destination and gotten different numbers throughout the year, you’ve already discovered the truth: there isn’t a fixed “average.” The high-level explanation for this is simple. Auto transport pricing floats with supply and demand in the spot market. Shippers post loads and carriers accept or bid back based on capacity, timing, and alternatives that day. Freight analysts track this across trucking. When load volumes outpace available trucks, spot rates rise; when capacity loosens, they fall. So what tilts supply and demand in your favor or against it? The answer is a handful of predictable (and a few unpredictable) forces.

Auto Hauler Exchange (AHX) and Autosled may seem similar on the surface, but under the hood they take very different approaches to vehicle logistics. AHX is a true digital marketplace, directly connecting shippers and carriers with full price transparency. Autosled, by contrast, is an app-enabled broker. Their platform may look modern, but the core model hasn’t changed: you’re still dealing with a broker. That means shippers don’t know which carrier is actually moving their vehicles, what that carrier is being paid, or how much margin the broker is pocketing. The marketplace vs. broker difference impacts everything from pricing to speed to transparency and ultimately, trust.

What Are Structured Hours? The new Structured Hours feature in Auto Hauler Exchange makes it easier and faster to enter shipment details when posting a load. Instead of manually typing in pickup and delivery hours, the uploader will now automatically pull business hours for each location based on the address you enter. This data comes directly from Google, helping improve shipment accuracy and reducing the chance of failed pickups caused by incomplete or incorrect operating hours.

We’re excited to introduce a major enhancement in Auto Hauler Exchange: the AI Pricing Engine — built to keep your loads competitive, reduce manual effort, and move vehicles faster.

The AI Pricing Engine is designed to help shippers move vehicles faster by automatically adjusting pricing within the Exchange. Instead of manually checking and raising rates, the tool works in the background to keep your shipments competitive in real time.

Trying a new transport platform shouldn’t seem like a gamble. With Auto Hauler Exchange, you’ll notice how we’re changing the game in vehicle transportation in the first shipment. From instant carrier visibility to faster booking and streamlined payments, AHX is designed for quick wins right out of the gate. That said, your first few shipments are also the perfect time to build good habits that set you up for long-term success. Here’s what to expect from the AHX marketplace, and how to get the most out of your early moves.

Auto Hauler Exchange (AHX) is the first true vehicle transportation marketplace built for dealers and carriers. It connects shippers and carriers directly enabling faster, safer, and more cost-effective vehicle logistics. No brokers allowed.

There’s no shortcut to a truly vetted carrier. Brokers might talk a big game about safety and compliance, but the reality is, most brokers are running with minimal checks or none at all. AHX was built to end the “just trust us” era in vehicle logistics.

Most vehicle logistics stories revolve around late-model cars moving from auction to dealer lot. But many organizations face a different challenge: transporting vehicles that fall outside the “standard sedan” playbook. These include inoperable vehicles that can’t roll under their own power, older classics without a 17-digit VIN, and high-end exotics where a small mistake can cost six figures. For asset managers, dealer groups, and specialty fleets, the margin for error is razor thin.

Auto Hauler Exchange (AHX) is the first true vehicle transportation marketplace built for dealers who are fed up with broker markups, slow timelines, and a lack of visibility into their shipments. With AHX, you post shipments, connect directly with 5,500+ vetted carriers, and see exactly what you’re paying the carrier—no broker manipulation, no hidden margins.

Getting a fresh auction buy to your lot should be fast and predictable, not hijacked by brokers and endless waiting games. That’s why smart dealers measure the days-to-lot for vehicles they’ve bought at auction. For every day a vehicle takes to reach the lot, there are calculable costs from floorplan interest to depreciation to auction holding fees and so on. If you’re still running your auction-to-lot transports through the “old way,” you’re leaving gross on the table every single day. Let’s break the cycle. Here’s the real playbook for getting your new inventory out of the auction penalty box and into recon fast. Plus, we’ll show you exactly how much it costs not to move quickly, with a plug-and-play calculator you can use with your team.

Shipping a vehicle has never offered more choices, or more confusion. Should you use a digital marketplace, call a broker, or post your move on a load board? The truth: Each model has real strengths, weaknesses, and features that could make or break your next move. This comparison skips the hype and focuses on features that actually matter so you can make a confident, informed decision for your business.

No one likes paperwork. But, it can be the difference between smooth operations and costly delays. When documents go missing or carriers can't access what they need it causes chaos. The old way? Scattered email threads, lost gate passes, and finger-pointing when pickup gets delayed because the carrier doesn't have the right paperwork. The AHX way: every shipment gets organized digital documentation with VIN-level tracking and direct carrier access. No more hunting through emails or waiting for brokers to forward documents. It's true transparency from upload to delivery. Here’s a quick breakdown on how it works:

Auto Hauler Exchange (AHX), the nation’s first true marketplace connecting vehicle shippers directly with carriers, has been recognized as one of Metropolitan Detroit’s Best and Brightest Companies to Work For® in 2025.

Ask any port operator their top vehicle logistics headache, and you’ll likely hear the same two words: dwell time. For ports, railheads, and automakers, dwell time is a cost driver, a congestion risk, and a customer satisfaction killer. Every extra day a car sits is money tied up in real estate, storage, and financing. It also strains relationships across the supply chain: OEMs get hit with bay allocation penalties, dealers face delays in getting inventory, and consumers wait longer for deliveries.

On Auto Hauler Exchange (AHX), you’re in control of when your shipments go live and when they’re paused. Publishing a load makes it visible to carriers in the Exchange marketplace, while unpublishing removes it from carrier view until you’re ready to repost. Here’s how to manage your loads:

For decades, vehicle logistics has operated on traditional models where intermediaries managed the connection between dealers and carriers, often adding 20-30% to shipping costs while extending delivery times to 14-16 days. Many dealers accepted this as "just how it works." But the industry is evolving. There's a transformation happening in vehicle transportation that's empowering dealers with better options. Forward-thinking dealers are discovering what a true auto transport marketplace looks like, and it's revolutionizing how they think about vehicle logistics.

Auto Hauler Exchange (AHX), the premier direct carrier marketplace for vehicle transportation, is proud to announce it has been recognized by Crain’s Detroit Business as one of the 2025 Best Places to Work in Southeast Michigan.

What if you could receive vehicles in 4 days instead of 16? What if you could save 15-20% on every shipment while gaining complete transparency into your logistics? Forward-thinking dealers are already experiencing this reality through modern vehicle logistics platforms. While traditional methods average 16 days for delivery, these dealers are photographing, listing, and selling vehicles in less than a week from purchase.

Need to adjust your shipment dates after posting a load? On Auto Hauler Exchange, you can easily update pickup and delivery dates from your Shipper Dashboard before the carrier picks up the vehicle.

When using a car hauler load board, you want to see available carriers, compare prices, and book shipments directly. That's exactly what traditional car hauler load boards promise. But there's a gap between promise and reality that smart dealers are learning to navigate.

If you work in vehicle logistics, you already know: fraud prevention has become a critical focus across the industry. It's the priority topic at every conference, in every dealer meeting, and on every podcast. Executives at dealerships are actively addressing it. Podcasts are asking the important questions. Dealers are proactively sharing information and alerting their peers about emerging fraud patterns. The industry is recognizing that fraud requires immediate attention and coordinated action. But why now? What's changed? And more importantly: how can we evolve beyond the traditional shipping methods that create vulnerabilities in our operations?

Setting your lane preferences on the Auto Hauler Exchange helps tailor your experience on the platform. By indicating where you prefer to pick up and deliver vehicles, you’ll receive more relevant load opportunities that fit your routes.

In a recent appearance on the Car Dealership Guy podcast, Auto Hauler Exchange founder and CEO Royce Neubauer sat down for a deep dive into the future of vehicle transport, dealer logistics, and how tech innovation is reshaping the auto retail space. From fraud prevention to carrier shortages, and faster delivery speeds to cutting-edge new products in the pipeline, this episode pulled back the curtain on how AHX is helping dealers thrive in an uncertain market.

Need to make a correction to a VIN or update vehicle details after posting a load? You can quickly edit vehicle information from your Shipper Dashboard before a carrier picks up the shipment.

Auto Hauler Exchange is designed to simplify and streamline vehicle logistics for a wide range of shippers and carriers. Whether you're a dealership, fleet manager, remarketer, or auction house, our platform supports the transport of various vehicle types across the U.S. Here’s a breakdown of the most common vehicle types we support on the Exchange:

​​When uploading a load on Auto Hauler Exchange, you’ll notice two pricing terms that help shape your shipment’s success: List Price and Max Price. Here's what they mean and how they impact your load.

Mark Harris had been in the business long enough to see every kind of load board and broker scheme. But after a few too many costly incidents, he made a switch and never looked back.

To ensure smooth and efficient transportation, it’s important for shippers to accurately classify their vehicles as operable or inoperable when posting a shipment on Auto Hauler Exchange. This distinction helps carriers come properly equipped and prepared for pickup and delivery.

The auto transport industry has a middleman problem. Here’s how it usually goes: A dealership purchases five vehicles from auction, expecting delivery in a few days. The broker promises to handle it. Days turn into a week. Then ten days. The broker is shopping the shipment around to maximize their cut, not to move the units quickly. The vehicle shows up late, just past the arbitration window, while interest on the loan ticks upward and reconditioning teams scramble to catch up. The broker made their margin. The dealership ate the cost. Auto Hauler Exchange (AHX) was built to stop this cycle. Founded by Royce Neubauer, a veteran of 24+ years in freight and logistics, AHX isn’t a load board or a broker. It’s a direct, digital B2B marketplace where shippers post vehicle shipments and carriers accept them with full transparency, real pricing, and no middlemen. Here are five ways AHX changes the game:

In some cases, a carrier may not be able to take your entire multi-vehicle load—but they can take part of it. Rather than cancel and repost, you can split the load directly within Auto Hauler Exchange to keep your vehicles moving. Here’s how to split a load into multiple shipments:

Fees Dealers are good at modeling the cost of a vehicle: purchase price, recon, transport, floorplan, and more. But one fee often gets missed, not because it’s hidden, but because it’s scattered across too many systems: auction holding costs. The invoice comes from the auction. The delay comes from the broker. The pickup status might live in a transport portal. It’s no wonder most dealers don’t include this in their unit economics. And when you’re moving dozens of vehicles a week, that data isn’t all in one place. Recon updates might be in your shop system, and storage fees show up later on a separate auction invoice. Stitching it all together just to see how long a car sat can turn into a spreadsheet project no one has time for. To help, we’ve built a defensible benchmark: $180.

Uploading to Auto Hauler Exchange is simple and if something doesn’t go as expected, we’ve got easy solutions ready. Below are quick tips to help you navigate uploading your vehicle and keep things moving smoothly.

Whether you're new to the Exchange or returning and need to update your details, this article will walk you through the steps needed to sign up as a carrier on the Exchange and how to solve the most common errors we see in the process.

Joining Auto Hauler Exchange (AHX) as a carrier connects you directly with shippers across the country—no brokers, no middlemen, just real opportunities. To maintain a trusted and efficient network, all carriers must meet the following requirements to be approved on the platform:

At Auto Hauler Exchange (AHX), real-time tracking is a requirement—and a critical part of ensuring speed, visibility, and trust between shippers and carriers. To meet this requirement, every carrier must use one of the following approved tracking methods when hauling a load through the Exchange.

If you're sourcing inventory from auctions, transportation costs can eat away at your profit. And every dealer knows the feeling. You score a great buy at Manheim, calculate your expected profit, then watch it shrink when the transport quote comes in. Auction platforms integrate with Montway, uShip, and others to make transport seem easy. But their "convenient" instant quotes hide the truth: brokers taking 20-30% cuts, adding days to delivery, and blocking you from seeing what carriers actually get paid. Enter Auto Hauler Exchange (AHX), the vehicle transportation marketplace where you control the price, carriers compete for your loads, and you move vehicles faster..

When it comes to vehicle transport, speed and control are everything. At Auto Hauler Exchange (AHX), we’ve designed our platform to make load posting seamless, transparent, and efficient. Whether you're listing your first load or your fiftieth, knowing what to expect before, during, and after the process can help you get the most out of the platform—and avoid the delays and markups that come with traditional brokers. Here’s what to expect at every stage of the AHX experience:

Use this step-by-step guide to help you reset your password on the Exchange.

Every dealer knows what they paid for a car. Most know what they paid to move it. But very few can tell you what they spent on daily auction storage, even though it’s one of the most consistent leaks in the cost stack. At wholesale auctions, the clock starts ticking the moment a car is sold. Some give you a grace period. Others don’t. And after that window closes, fees rack up every single day the car sits unpicked.

Five expense meters that start running the moment you click “Buy” Most managers see a broker quote, say $1,125, and call it good. They may never realize only about $800 of that total actually reaches the carrier. On top of that, four more cost meters start spinning before the truck even leaves the auction gate. Let’s put real numbers on each one and then show an example of how a direct-carrier marketplace like Auto Hauler Exchange (AHX) can save you money without adding work to your day.

A step-by-step guide for carriers Auto Hauler Exchange (AHX) is a digital marketplace that connects vetted carriers directly with shippers—eliminating the need for brokers and reducing delays. If you’re a carrier ready to move vehicles faster and get paid more transparently, this guide will walk you through the process of booking your first (or next) load on AHX.

Let’s be real. Moving vehicles across state lines is a gamble. When a bargain vehicle pops up three states away, the upside is obvious: fresh inventory, new gross profit, and a story that brings customers onto the lot. The downside is just as real. Shipping delays, paperwork headaches, and the risk of missing an auction’s arbitration window can wipe out the deal before the unit ever reaches recon.

Vehicle release documents are essential for security. Only the carrier who has your vehicle release is authorized to pick up your vehicle. With Auto Hauler Exchange, our built-in security system ensures that your documents are only accessible to the vetted carrier who books your load. To help you avoid hiccups, here’s everything you need to know about what release documents are, when they’re required, and how to make sure they’re correctly uploaded to the Auto Hauler Exchange platform.

The moment you win a vehicle at a wholesale auction, the National Auto Auction Association (NAAA) gives you just seven calendar days to uncover undisclosed problems and file a claim. It could be as much as 10 days if you’re buying on certain digital channels like Manheim OVE. Miss that window and every mystery rattle, undisclosed structural repair, or frame‑corrosion surprise is your problem and your margin. Yet old‑school broker workflows routinely tie up vehicles for 14–16 days before they ever see your recon bay. That means the arbitration door slams shut before the transport door even opens.

If you’re already sourcing cars from auctions or other out-of-state sources, this article exists for one reason: to show exactly where that lost gross is hiding and hand you a 10-minute tool to claim it back. Most of the time, gross profit slips away in small, familiar ways. A few extra days in transit means you’re paying more in floor-plan interest and losing valuable time in the arbitration window. Freight costs are often inflated, especially when broker fees are hidden in an all-in quote. Recon can sit idle when shipping is delayed. Managers lose time chasing trucks, tracking paperwork, and following up on delays. And, slower delivery means slower retail cycles, which limits how many cars you can move on the same credit line.

Every day a purchased vehicle sits waiting for transport means lost sales opportunities, tied-up capital, and potentially missed arbitration windows. While picking up the phone to call your broker might seem like the quickest solution, the reality is far different. That quick call often translates to days of waiting while your broker hunts for the lowest-cost carrier, which is not always the fastest or most reliable one. The truth is, posting a shipment on Auto Hauler Exchange (AHX) is also fast. It takes about 3 minutes to post your shipment. Plus, you are in control of the price you set and can easily check the status. Here's how to do it.

Auto Hauler Exchange (AHX) and RunBuggy represent two fundamentally different approaches to vehicle transport. AHX is a true digital marketplace connecting shippers (like auto dealers, remarketers, fleets) directly with carriers, while RunBuggy operates as a broker (RunBuggy is federally licensed as a broker). AHX bypasses traditional broker-led workflows by eliminating the middleman entirely, whereas RunBuggy maintains the broker model with a digital interface. This core difference shapes their feature sets, workflows, and value propositions.

How one dealership slashed transport costs by 25% and freed up $500,000 in working capital—without changing haulers.

At Auto Hauler Exchange (AHX), we make sure carriers get paid quickly, reliably, and without the usual hassle. When you haul a load through AHX, you can drive with confidence knowing your payment is protected, guaranteed, and streamlined.

Auto Hauler Exchange (AHX) is built to streamline the load booking process by connecting carriers directly with verified shippers—no brokers, no hidden fees. As a carrier you have full control to browse available loads and submit bids that match your pricing and route preferences.

Auto Hauler Exchange’s VP of Sales, Frank Zombo, sat down for an exclusive episode of the Car Dealership Guy podcast with Sam D’Arc, alongside Tom Bear, Platform Used Car Director at Cable Dahmer Automotive Group, and Stephan Morris, the group’s Used Vehicle Acquisition Manager.

Auto Hauler Exchange puts the power back into your hands — no brokers, no middleman. You have full control over the rate. Here’s how to quickly and effectively list your loads and use the Market Estimate Tool to get it moving quick!

The Auto Hauler Exchange (AHX) Market Estimate Tool is designed to help shippers make informed pricing decisions based on real-time market data. Unlike traditional models, AHX does not allow brokers on the platform, and we give shippers full control over pricing their own loads.

When I founded Auto Hauler Exchange (AHX), my vision was clear: eliminate the middleman in vehicle logistics. For far too long, the auto transport industry has been bogged down by brokers who slow the process, add unnecessary costs, and create friction that ultimately hurts shippers and carriers alike.

New funding will accelerate growth, enhance marketplace features, and strengthen the network of carriers and shippers.