Figures below are percentage changes only – Ship.Cars doesn’t disclose absolute volumes or rates. Directional signal, not a forecast. Full methodology at the end.
In short
- Auto transport capacity opened up as demand eased this week (-3.7% after +9.3%), so the post-holiday rebound didn’t hold. Excluding holiday weeks, this was the softest week in our series, and volume has now declined in six of the last seven weeks since early August. Premium enclosed demand moved against the trend, rising for a second week to its strongest level since late August.
- Rates eased slightly across open-carrier segments, with long-haul down for a fourth straight week, while enclosed rates edged up. Breadth turned negative again: four of six regions declined, led by the Southwest and Midwest; the Northwest led on both volume and rate, and the South posted modest gains. Both cross-country lane directions fell by about a tenth, and both have declined in five of the last six weeks.
Volume trend
Pricing trend
Price segment detail
| Segment | WoW | 4-week average |
|---|---|---|
| All loads | ↓ -0.6% | ↓ -0.5% |
| Short-haul · under 600 mi | ↓ -1.0% | ↓ -0.1% |
| Long-haul · over 600 mi | ↓ -0.6% | ↓ -1.3% |
| Enclosed (premium) (volatile) | ↑ +0.6% | ↓ -0.1% |
Short-haul rates typically run higher per mile (fixed pickup/delivery effort over fewer miles); long-haul runs lower per mile.
Enclosed (premium) is a small-sample segment, so single weeks can swing for reasons that have nothing to do with the wider market – read it on a multi-week basis rather than week to week. It is excluded from the rate index chart above so that sample noise does not distort the rebased lines.
Lane deep dive
Region deep-dive – volume & rate
Regions: NE – Northeast; SE – Southeast; SW – Southwest; MW – Midwest; NW – Northwest; South – South/South-Central
| Region | Volume WoW | Rate/MI WoW | Volume Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| MW | ↓ -7.7% | ↓ -0.7% | Weakening |
| SE | ↓ -4.7% | ↓ -2.0% | Weakening |
| SW | ↓ -8.3% | ↑ +0.7% | Weakening |
| NE | ↓ -5.3% | ↓ -1.8% | Weakening |
| South | ↑ +1.6% | ↑ +0.9% | Weakening |
| NW | ↑ +7.8% | ↑ +7.3% | Improving |
Volume and rate/mile WoW by region. | Breadth turned negative again, with four of six regions declining on volume, led by the Southwest and Midwest. The Northwest was the strongest region on both measures, while the South posted modest gains.
What the data is telling us
- Demand fell -3.7% after last week’s +9.3% rebound. Setting aside the holiday weeks (Memorial Day, the July 4 corridor and Labor Day), this is the softest week in our series, and six of the last seven weeks have declined since the early-August peak. The four-week average weekly change is -2.0%.
- Premium enclosed volume rose +6.9%, its second straight gain and its strongest level since late August. Moving against the wider market. Its four-week average (-0.2%) is close to flat, so this reads as a return toward its August range rather than a breakout.
- Rates eased modestly across open-carrier segments: blended -0.6%, short-haul -1.0%, long-haul -0.6%. Long-haul has now declined four weeks running (-1.3% average per week). Enclosed rates were the exception, up +0.6%.
- Regional breadth turned negative again, with four of six regions down on volume: Southwest -8.3%, Midwest -7.7%, Northeast -5.3% and Southeast -4.7%. Rates also eased in the Southeast (-2.0%), Northeast (-1.8%) and Midwest (-0.7%).
- The Northwest led on both measures, with volume +7.8% and rate +7.3%, reversing last week’s dip. It has changed direction three times in four weeks, so treat it as noisy rather than trending. The South posted small gains on both (volume +1.6%, rate +0.9%).
- Both cross-country lane directions fell by about a tenth (East→West -10.3%, West→East -9.3%) after both rose last week (+4.7% / +5.6%). Both directions have now declined in five of the last six weeks, pointing to looser auto transport capacity on long-distance moves rather than demand simply shifting from one direction to the other.
What to watch: With the holiday distortion behind us, the underlying trend has been a gradual cooling since early August, and rates have softened with it, most persistently for long-haul moves. Next week will show whether this is a new, lower baseline or a one-week dip. For standard open-carrier moves, softer demand points to ample capacity and gives shippers a little more pricing room, especially on longer lanes. Enclosed demand is picking up, so for enclosed and high-value vehicles, book earlier.
– Vlad Kadurin, Chief Product & Operations Officer
Methodology: Ship.Cars Market Read reflects marketplace activity for the last complete Monday–Sunday week (September 21 – 27, 2026). Every figure is a week-over-week or 4-week percentage change — absolute volumes and rates are not disclosed. Rate movements are calculated using a distance-adjusted methodology that compares loads within distance bands and limits the influence of extreme per-mile values. Figures are directional indicators, not a forecast, and may be revised as late loads post. Refreshed weekly. For informational purposes only.
