In the auto transport industry, as far as the carriers are concerned, it does not matter to them when an order is booked. In other words, it is not first come … first served. So nobody has reserved a spot, a space, on a transport trailer simply by booking their order weeks or even months in advance. 

What matters to vehicle transport carriers are their profits. To that end, they choose orders, which they call loads, that are the highest paying, or logistically make the most sense with an eye always on the bottom line. The carriers seek to maximize their profit, like everybody else.

Do not book an automobile shipment to Houston, TX too early. You might be priced too low, in which case, your car will likely be rejected by the carriers and won’t ship. Or if it does ship, it will be the last to do so, and probably far later than you had hoped. 

Conversely, booking too early might also mean you unwittingly committed to a higher-than-necessary price to ship your car in a timely fashion. The high price might have been the market rate at the time of booking, but in the interim, auto shipping rates may have come down and you won’t enjoy the savings. 

It is always best to have the current market pricing, which guards against both too low and too high a transport price. 

Direct Express Auto Transport has been in the car shipping industry for a long time. Over twenty years. We say a good rule of thumb is to book your car shipment to Houston, TX about 7 days before availability. 

Most auto transport carriers will not commit to a vehicle shipment more than three days in advance of availability. What has anyone gained, therefore, from booking weeks in advance? The answer is nothing, of course. 

So why book much earlier than one week before availability?

In the Spring Season, the volume of orders to Houston is higher than normal. The Spring Season in Texas is nothing like the Spring Season in Florida. The ratios stay elevated car shipping to Houston, TX throughout the Spring. It is close to 2 to 1 the entire season.

Other than the New Year’s holiday, the most prolonged and toughest time of year for auto transport pricing to Houston, Texas occurs in the Spring and Summer Seasons. 

With so many vehicles shipping to Houston, and so few leaving, the reverse route from Houston, TX becomes incredibly cheap. Enjoy it while you can. 

Auto transport prices to Houston in the Summer Season are just as busy as in the Spring. The auto shipping ratio of vehicles available to ship to Houston, TX is still much higher. Which keeps vehicle shipping costs higher. 

The month of August becomes extremely busy shipping to Houston, as both the timeframe and cost rise significantly. If at all possible, avoid auto transport to Houston, TX in August. 

Conversely, you will win in August shipping from Houston.

Car transport carrier drivers enjoy being home as much as you do for the 4th of July festivities. The hometown parade. The barbecue with family and friends. A mid-summer rest with the people you love. 

That means fewer vehicles are getting shipped right in the middle of the busy Summer Season. Orders get backlogged. When the carriers get back to work in early July, they transport to Houston, TX the highest-paying freight first with no regard to how long a customer has been waiting. For about two weeks thereafter, many customers find it both more expensive and frustrating.

The thing to do, and here is your tip, is to avoid vehicle shipping to Houston the last week of June and the first two weeks of July. That is not a good time to ship a car.

There is a very discernible car shipping spike every year in the late Summer Season. Texas has many popular universities and colleges that attract students from all over America. For many, it is an ideal place to go to college. 

Texas colleges on the semester system create a mid-August boost in auto transport to Houston that lasts until the end of the month.

Vehicle shipping to Houston in the Autumn Season is easy. It is considered a slower time of year in the car shipping industry. Auto transport costs remain stable and more affordable throughout most of the Autumn Season. It is the cheapest and most ideal time of year to ship your car to Houston, TX. 

National weather forecasters can see hurricanes forming in the Gulf of Mexico days in advance. Car transport carriers know how long they have to get out of Texas, and they avoid entirely any route there. They wait it out, which usually takes but a few days, a week at most. Those of us in the auto transport industry can tell you that climate change is real. 

September and October are the two most susceptible months for hurricanes, but of course, there are exceptions. Hurricanes create a backlog of vehicle shipments to Houston, TX that are usually overcome within a week after the event. 

At the end of November comes Thanksgiving. Like everybody else, auto transport carriers like to be home for Turkey Day too. 

Because Thanksgiving is always the fourth Thursday in November, drivers are usually home by the Wednesday before and don’t return to the road until the Monday after Thanksgiving. Essentially a five-day break for many. It takes about a week for the vehicle shipping freight system to recover and return to normal. 

When we talk about seasonality in the vehicle transport industry, late December and early January are the big reasons. It becomes hectic, expensive, and stressful during that period shipping a car to Houston, TX.

If at all possible, you should avoid shipping a car to Houston, TX in the last week of December and the first two weeks of January.

During the Christmas and New Year’s Day holidays, the auto transport carriers and brokers, and most of all the customers, are stressed.

But not all customers understand the auto transport industry, and why the order they placed weeks ago might still be waiting to ship.

When is the ideal time to ship a car to Houston, TX? Probably only in November, and early December. The Winter, all of Spring, and as well the Summer months are far more expensive shipping to Houston. Which makes the reverse route in each season the exact opposite. 

The Winter season is by far the toughest for car shipping to Houston, especially around the auto transport snowbird migration in late December and January, as shipping costs soar. 

The Autumn season is ideal weather, and car transport quotes tend to be lower than average. 

Direct Express Auto Transport originated the instant car shipping quote calculator in 2004. It is still the best, most sophisticated, reliable tool available online. We offer three options that we call tiers of car shipping quote estimates to Houston, TX.

The Standard rate is the cheapest car shipping quote. Use the Standard rate if you can be patient. 

The Expedited rate, or tier as we call them, is the most recommended and best auto transport quote. We have countless satisfied Expedited rate customers because the vehicle shipping process tends to go quicker. 

The Rush rate is our highest level of car transport quotes and service, and many customers are glad they went with that method too. If in a hurry, go Rush rate.

Direct Express Auto Transport uniquely has three levels of service on every route, including shipping a car to Houston. The customers who choose the highest Rush rate are typically happiest with the service. 

The customers who choose the Expedited rate are often satisfied with the results. 

Those who book the Standard rate to Houston, TX during the busy snowbird season are frustrated while waiting their turn. 

We are writing this blog to give good advice to unaware customers. The smartest thing to do if you are in a hurry to ship a car is to go with the higher Rush or Expedited rates.