Not so long ago we completed the delivery of the 2026 Honda Accord Hybrid from Chesterfield, VA to Fresno, CA. This delivery included a distance of 2,730 miles using an open car carrier. The price paid for this was $1,735.00 or $0.64 per mile.
A great rate of sixty-four cents per mile for the coast-to-coast delivery can be a good achievement. But the route direction is no less important factor and rarely taken into account by clients.
The route
The 2,730 mile-long run from Chesterfield to Fresno spans the country using the southern transcontinental route.
As the point of origin is southwest of Richmond, motorists start by heading west towards Lexington on I-64 and turning south to I-81 through Roanoke and Bristol.
This highway joins I-40 at Knoxville, TN, which will form the major part of the journey until the end of the trip in California. This interstate highway covers Nashville, Tennessee; Memphis, Tennessee; Mississippi River; Little Rock, Arkansas; and passes through Oklahoma City.
Then the same interstate highway will cover Amarillo, Texas; New Mexico through Albuquerque; and Arizona via Flagstaff, all the way to Barstow, California, where motorists get off the Interstate Highway and take CA-58 to Bakersfield.
From here, motorists drive north on CA-99 to Fresno.
Direction changes the price
However, even when two consumers are transporting the same model of cars between two particular locations, the price they will pay could vary based on the route that they take. This is not a price manipulation but the nature of freight.
The trucks have to make round-trip journey. The carriers who transport the load west bound should go back east and the emptier trip would result into loss of money. As such, carriers are forced to set prices such that the truck stays full on both ends and the weaker end would offer cheaper rate.
This occurs because of people movement; more vehicles leave the sun belt heading towards the Northeast and Midwest states. The routes south bound and southwest bound are considered to be the stronger routes as compared to reverse.
From east to west, moving goods along the southern lane is less expensive. I-40 sees huge freight shipments both ways, but the movement of trucks from California is skewed to westbound in most months of the year. A truck going west and has some space is a truck that can bargain.
This changes from month to month. While one lane can be inexpensive in one month, it will be tight in the next month, which makes it impossible for the rates quoted half a year ago to be useful now.
None of this can be controlled by the customer. But the question can be asked of the broker, and they will know whether the goods being shipped have an easy or tough lane and approximately how much that costs.
What $0.64 per mile reflects
Three favorable factors came into play for the customer.
Distance was the first factor. Costs for pickup, loading, securing and delivering the trailer are roughly the same for the carrier regardless of the distance traveled, while they are not affected by the mileage at all. When split between 2,730 miles, this cost is reduced to a minimum. Splitting the cost between 400 miles is three or four times higher per mile.
Open trailer was the second one. Open cargo containers haul significantly more cars per mile in comparison with closed ones, and this difference will be even larger over 2,730 miles.
Corridor was the third. Interstate 40 is one of the main transcontinental routes for cargo in the country, and both endpoints of the route are located on high-capacity lanes. There was no problem with capacity.
A note on the hybrid
It comes just like a regular gas Accord. Nothing that needs charging or any other equipment from the carriers.
There’s only one thing you can continue doing, and that’s checking your fuel level. We always expect about a quarter tank in every car that leaves us, and that’s sufficient for loading and relocating to the deck and moving off after delivery without burdening the trailer with extra weight close to its axle limit.
The hybrid system adds extra weight to the car compared to the regular model. This is something we will verify at the time of ordering the vehicle.
Open transport
The Accord went under an open trailer since most of the automobiles in this country do so.
The automobile is a brand new, current production sedan that is covered in modern factory clear coat. The enclosed transport mode is only used for automobiles for which a rock chip is a significant event and the new, mainstream sedan going to its driveway is not such an event. On the way this long, going with the enclosed option would have significantly increased the cost.
The loading process was easy as the automobile was running and the Accord is at the regular sedan ride height.
Transport summary
- Origin: Chesterfield, VA 23832
- Destination: Fresno, CA 93723
- Distance: 2,730 miles
- Service cost: $1,735.00
- Cost per mile: $0.64
- Vehicle: 2026 Honda Accord Hybrid
- Condition: Operable
- Trailer type: Open
- Route: Chesterfield, VA → I-64 west → I-81 south through Roanoke and Bristol → I-40 west at Knoxville, TN → Nashville and Memphis → Little Rock, AR → Oklahoma City, OK → Amarillo, TX → Albuquerque, NM → Flagstaff, AZ → Barstow, CA → CA-58 west over Tehachapi Pass → Bakersfield → CA-99 north → Fresno, CA
