The one stat about enclosed trailers that blew my mind last week

I was just browsing around on some shipping forums (you know, killing time during lunch) and stumbled onto a report from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. It said that only about 10% of auto haulers run enclosed trailers, which honestly shocked me. I always figured enclosed was way more common than that, especially for expensive cars. The report broke it down by region too and apparently the Midwest has even fewer enclosed options than the coasts. I guess open transport is just way more efficient for the volume they move. But it got me wondering - how do people actually find a good enclosed carrier when they need one? Has anyone here had a bad experience with open vs. enclosed shipping?

2 comments

2 Comments

thompson.nathan10d ago

Bet that's why some guys near me are flipping hummers and land rovers cheaper than you'd think. Notice they always have minor paint chips or tiny dents from open transport. Enclosed isn't just about theft protection it's about keeping that factory finish perfect.

the_tara10d ago

Yeah, that tracks with what I saw when I had to move a classic car from Chicago to Phoenix last year. I called around to like 10 different enclosed carriers and only two of them even had routes coming through my area. One guy straight up told me they mostly stick to the coasts because the demand is higher there for the fancy stuff. I ended up waiting an extra two weeks just to get on someone's schedule. Open haulers are everywhere, but finding a decent enclosed option felt like pulling teeth.