Texas

Texas is the third most popular state for auto transport after Florida and California. While New York and Chicago are both bigger than any city in Texas, three of the 10 most populous cities in the United States are in Texas (Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio). The state of Texas is only second in population to California.

One of the things really helping Texas’ auto transport industry is its excellent business climate. The state does not institute an income tax and is generally business friendly. The third most Fortune 500 companies are located in Texas at 51 and the tech industry is booming in Texas too, so much so that it is being called the second Silicon Valley. More businesses are moving or starting up and more people are moving here, for the business opportunities and for the excellent quality of life. These factors are introducing more individual car shipments as well as more dealership and body shop car shipments.

Texas also has a huge amount of ports at 1,150. The Port of Houston is the largest in the state and the 10th largest in the world. It leads the United States in foreign exports and imports and is the second largest overall after the Port of South Louisiana. Ports are a huge boost to the auto transport of a state and having this many and of this size helps lower cost to individual vehicle shippers.

Texas has a respectable and loyal snowbird population as well. Like all snowbirds they come south between October and December and go back up north between April and May. Unlike other states however, Texas snowbirds mostly prefer to drive an RV instead of having temporary housing. Obviously this negates the need for auto transport so you will not see as big of an effect on the price like other states. Cities on the coast like Houston still have traditional snowbirds so keep that in mind if you are interested in shipping from there.

Texas is an easy state to ship a car to or from. A lot of the state is well paved providing easy access for trucks and trucks going to other states often have to pass through Texas. If you live south of San Antonio or north of Lubbock you may have trouble getting a low rate. There is so much cargo coming from the major cities that truckers have little motivation to go to the less popular areas unless they are well compensated for it. If you are in Dallas, San Antonio, or Houston your experience will be very simple.