The October 2026 edition of the HaulFare Ship vs Drive Study compares the cash cost of driving a running sedan with the open-transport shipping midpoint on 25 US routes. I used only the published CSV. The question is when shipping is cheaper in cash, and when it is not, how high you would have to value an hour of your time before the two options meet.
Driving cost is the sum of fuel, lodging, meals and wear. The
assumptions are the same on every route: 25 miles per gallon, gasoline
at $4.465 a gallon (the EIA weekly price for the week of 2026-09-28),
500 miles per day at 62 mph, lodging at $160 a night, meals at $68 a
day, and wear at $0.117 a mile. Shipping figures are model-derived
open-transport estimates for a sedan. The shipping_source
column is model, and the model version is
2026.09-seed. These are estimates, not quotes and not
promises.
Of the 25 routes, the study labels 3 as ship (shipping
cheaper on cash), 2 as close, and 20 as drive.
Shipping is cheaper on cash only on the three longest hauls in the file.
Each is more than 2,000 miles and at least five driving days:
| Route | Miles | Drive days | Hours at the wheel | Driving total (USD) | Shipping low / mid / high (USD) | Gap (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles, CA to Orlando, FL | 2,593 | 6 | 41.8 | 1,974 | 1,405 / 1,560 / 1,745 | 414 |
| Los Angeles, CA to New York City, NY | 2,885 | 6 | 46.5 | 2,061 | 1,500 / 1,665 / 1,865 | 396 |
| Chicago, IL to Los Angeles, CA | 2,056 | 5 | 33.2 | 1,588 | 1,260 / 1,400 / 1,570 | 188 |
A positive gap means the driving total is higher than the shipping midpoint. On Los Angeles, CA to Orlando, FL, driving totals $1,974 (fuel $463, lodging $800, meals $408, wear $303) against a shipping midpoint of $1,560, a $414 mid gap. The shipping high of $1,745 is still $229 below the driving total. The same holds on Los Angeles, CA to New York City, NY ($396 mid gap; shipping high $1,865 is $196 under driving) and, more thinly, on Chicago, IL to Los Angeles, CA ($188 mid gap; shipping high $1,570 is only $18 under driving).
Two mid-distance routes, both 1,617 miles and 4 driving days, are
labeled close:
| Route | Miles | Hours at the wheel | Driving total (USD) | Shipping low / mid / high (USD) | Gap (USD) | Breakeven (USD / hour) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas, TX to New York City, NY | 1,617 | 26.1 | 1,230 | 1,060 / 1,175 / 1,315 | 55 | (blank in the file) |
| Houston, TX to Los Angeles, CA | 1,617 | 26.1 | 1,230 | 1,140 / 1,265 / 1,415 | -35 | 1 |
Dallas, TX to New York City, NY has a $55 mid gap in favor of shipping ($1,175 versus a $1,230 driving total), but the shipping high of $1,315 sits above the driving total, so the study does not treat it as a clear win. Houston, TX to Los Angeles, CA is slightly the other way: a $35 gap in favor of driving (driving $1,230, shipping mid $1,265).
On the 20 routes labeled drive, cash alone favors
driving. The study also reports a breakeven time value: the dollars per
hour of your time at which the two options cost the same. The file
leaves this blank when the comparison is not meaningful, including the
three routes where shipping is already cheaper on cash.
| Route | Miles | Hours at the wheel | Driving total (USD) | Shipping mid (USD) | Gap (USD) | Breakeven (USD / hour) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago, IL to Phoenix, AZ | 1,713 | 27.6 | 1,258 | 1,495 | -237 | 9 |
| Dallas, TX to Orlando, FL | 1,134 | 18.3 | 860 | 1,070 | -210 | 11 |
| Los Angeles, CA to Dallas, TX | 1,460 | 23.5 | 956 | 1,205 | -249 | 11 |
| Columbus, OH to Orlando, FL | 937 | 15.1 | 573 | 1,110 | -537 | 36 |
| Los Angeles, CA to Las Vegas, NV | 285 | 4.6 | 152 | 500 | -348 | 76 |
A short hop such as Los Angeles, CA to Las Vegas, NV (285 miles, 4.6 hours, no hotel night) has a driving total of $152 against a shipping midpoint of $500, and a breakeven of $76 an hour. Columbus, OH to Orlando, FL has the widest cash gap in the file, $537 in favor of driving, and a breakeven of $36 an hour. By contrast, Chicago, IL to Phoenix, AZ breaks even at $9 an hour, and Dallas, TX to Orlando, FL and Los Angeles, CA to Dallas, TX both break even at $11 an hour.
The pattern in this edition is consistent: shipping’s cash advantage shows up on the longest routes, and on shorter routes the hourly breakeven is high. These are model estimates under one set of assumptions, not a forecast for any particular trip. Transit-day ranges are estimates as well, for example 6 to 9 days on Los Angeles, CA to Orlando, FL, next to 6 driving days.
The full study is on the Ship vs Drive Study page of the HaulFare car shipping price guide.
I run HaulFare. HaulFare is a free US car shipping price guide. It is not a broker or a carrier and does not ship cars. It publishes model price estimates and refers quote requests to a licensed transport partner, which pays HaulFare a referral fee.