Bohemia, N.Y. – September 13, 2026 -- Carrier pay per mile for U.S. car shipping rose 22.8% year over year in the first half of 2026, while the prices consumers paid climbed only 14.6% over the same period, according to a new data report from SGT Auto Transport covering 30 months of shipment records.
The report, The State of Auto Transport 2026, draws on organically acquired shipment data from January 2024 through June 2026, spanning all 49 U.S. states and 1,581 distinct state-to-state lanes in the most recent 12 months. Rate figures are mix-adjusted to a fixed distance profile.
Carrier pay accelerated sharply from March, the month the Strait of Hormuz closed
Carrier pay ran 9.2% above the prior year in January and 11.7% in February, then jumped to 14.9% in March, 32.8% in May and 34.7% in June -- a trajectory the report ties to the Strait of Hormuz closure that same month.
Diesel prices spiked but do not fully explain the increase
Retail diesel rose from $3.72 a gallon in February to $4.92 in March and peaked at $5.60 in May, the same month carrier pay peaked. January and February diesel prices had been flat to slightly below the prior year, ruling out fuel as the driver of the earlier gains.
The cost increase hit every long-haul segment simultaneously
Every distance band above 500 miles rose between 21% and 24%, a pattern the report attributes to an input cost affecting the entire carrier base rather than one segment.
Cancellations and repricing surged as booked rates fell behind market costs
The share of completed shipments finishing above their booked price rose 46%, while overall cancellations rose 24.8%. Orders cancelled because the booked rate was too low to attract a carrier climbed from 1.45% of all bookings to 4.64%.
Short-haul pricing runs nearly four times higher per mile than long-haul
Consumer prices averaged $2.04 per mile on hauls under 500 miles versus $0.55 per mile on hauls above 2,500 miles, a 3.7x spread even though total price rises only about 2.5 times across the same range.
"A broker sits between the customer and the truck, so we see both sides of every price,