Virginia has two weaknesses that keep it from becoming better. It lacks a major city and a considerable part is very mountainous and thickly forested, but because of its great location the state receives a lot of trucker traffic going to or coming from the northeast. In addition to this residents are well paid, it has been ranked as the most business friendly state numerous times, tourism is strong, and Virginia also has a sizable port network. Everything balances out and the state is considered average.
The Virginia Beach-Norfolk metropolitan is the most populous in the state but is isolated from other substantial cities and roads. This means that for a truck to go to Virginia Beach all or most of his pick ups/drop offs need to be in that area, and the population isn’t quite big enough for that to consistently happen. Richmond, the second largest metropolitan, is located right off of interstate 95 which is one of the most traveled roadways in the US. Because of this Richmond is much easier to ship from than Virginia Beach. Interstate 81 is another major highway located in Virginia. It doesn’t pass any giant cities but truckers love this road which make it possible to ship from places like Harrisonburg, Roanoke, and even Lynchburg somewhat easily. Any one not located along an interstate is in trouble. The smaller highways are notoriously difficult for large trucks to drive on because of the mountains. It isn’t hopeless, but if you are shipping from one of these areas your rate will be higher and finding a truck will be exponentially more challenging.
Virginia, like Maryland, has a small snow bird population but is nevertheless impacted by snow birds from nearby states. Between October and December the price to ship to a southern state will increase tremendously as these people head to warmer states before winter. Between April and May shipping to Virginia from a southern state will be very expensive as everyone returns home. Try to ship in the opposite direction of the snow birds, this will get you the lowest price per mile possible.
Overall Virginia is an average but climbing state for transporters. The population is growing quickly and the economy is very robust. Job opportunities and a great culture could make Virginia an auto transport superstar in the future.
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Im trying to my car from Lynchburg up to Grand Rapids MI but it’s been weeks already and its still in virginia. Whats the price I should be paying and is this hopeless?
/Brian
Hi Brian. Definitely not hopeless, just going to have to compromise a little. The problem is your shipment is not along a major transport route and your pick up and drop off cities aren’t very large. Your price should be between 700 and 800 and it should take about a week to find a carrier at that price. If you need the transport quickly you can meet a carrier in Chicago or Detroit, your rate will be between 500 and 650 to one of these cities.