Car shipping cost per mile, by distance band

Fifty US lanes from the October 2026 HaulFare Car Shipping Cost Index, grouped by road miles. Figures are open carrier estimates for a running sedan.

Road miles	Lanes	Average open rate per mile	Average midpoint	Midpoint range
Under 500	4	$1.55	$631	$505 to $683
500 to 999	5	$1.08	$995	$920 to $1,123
1,000 to 1,499	24	$0.96	$1,169	$990 to $1,408
1,500 to 1,999	6	$0.80	$1,324	$1,188 to $1,510
2,000 and up	11	$0.62	$1,570	$1,415 to $1,733

Reading the table

The per-mile rate falls by more than half from the shortest band to the longest, while the total price only a little more than doubles.
Most lanes in the index (24 of 50) sit between 1,000 and 1,499 miles, where the rate averages about $0.96 a mile.
Per-mile figures are useful for comparing lanes, not for pricing your own trip by multiplication. For your ZIP codes use the car shipping cost calculator.

Every figure is a model estimate, not a quote. A carrier sets the price when it accepts the load. Method: how the estimates are made.

I run HaulFare. HaulFare is a free US car shipping price guide. It is not a broker or a carrier and does not ship cars. It publishes model price estimates and refers quote requests to a licensed transport partner, which pays HaulFare a referral fee.