Car Shipping from Louisiana to California: Updated Auto Transport Costs 2025

Labor shortages: for quite a few years, the commercial transport industry has been short on professional drivers. At SGT, we have high standards for the commercial drivers we’ll work with; they need to clear a high bar when it comes to licensing, DOT permits, certifications and insurance coverage, and we handpick our drivers for all those qualifications as well as professionalism and experience. When drivers are scarcer, that means we offer premium pay for the ones we do engage with, and those labor costs are reflected in shipping rates. 

Regulatory compliance: interstate commercial trucking means having to stay ahead of regulations on driver safety, vehicle safety, vehicle emissions and many other parts of the shipping equation, many of which vary from state to state and even vary from year to year. Again, that can have an influence on shipping rates. 

Inflation: ever since the Covid pandemic of the early ‘20s, inflation has been a nagging problem worldwide. That means parts, materials, maintenance items like motor oil and commercial truck tires all are driving operating costs upward, and those costs mean it’s more expensive to stay in business. 

Calendar period: we’re a longtime auto transport company in Louisiana, and we know that this is a cyclical business. Around holidays, back-to-school time and other calendar periods, the demand for auto transport picks up, which means drivers are scarcer and that supply/demand equation means transport rates will go up during those periods. 

Fuel prices: this is one of the most obvious factors to mention. We’re all at the mercy of gas prices at the pump, and even if it’s a load of dishwashers rather than cars, higher fuel costs mean higher shipping costs. 

Supply chain problems: one of the consistent follow-on problems post-Covid is bottlenecks in the supply chain, and the recent changes in the global trade climate haven’t helped. That could mean reduced availability of truck parts, tires or any number of things that could get jammed up and affect operations. 

Vehicle year/make/model and size: curb weight is always going to be a big part of shipping costs. A 5500 lb Chevy Tahoe will necessarily be more expensive to ship than a 2300 lb Mini Cooper. 

Cost/mile: put all those factors into play and you’ll see how they all come together to influence cost per mile. The good news with us is that, as a California auto transit company, we do a lot of long-distance cross-country shipping and for runs of hundreds of miles, cost/mile actually starts to drop, making it a solid value. 

Let’s narrow this question down and get a little more specificity.

There’s a distance of almost 1900 miles from New Orleans to Los Angeles, and our general rule of thumb is that a delivery that needs to cover 200 miles can be done in a single day’s time.

A delivery of 2,000 miles should take at most an 8 to 9 day turnaround, so this shipping job would be more toward that end of the scale.

It’s important to keep in mind, though, that any number of things like weather, road conditions, construction, detours or unusually heavy traffic can skew that number, so it’s hard to make guarantees.

Get your quote for your desired services, and book the auto logistics job 

At your preferred time, date and location, the driver will show up and load your vehicle to start it on its trip

At the time, date and location you set up, your driver will drop off your vehicle after giving you a notification when he’s still a few hours away

Transparency in pricing

All shipments covered by verified carrier insurance, rolled into the quote total

Professionalism and a commitment to customer service

Trustworthiness and experience

Large network of professional transport drivers on call 

Please remove any detachable external accessories like light bars, bike racks, rooftop cargo carriers, antennas

Please remove any toll transponders or tags, and disable any alarms 

Please be sure all four tires are fully inflated, your car’s battery is charged up, and your headlights and taillights work 

Remember the driver will need a copy of your car’s ignition key

If you live on a congested urban or suburban street (or if your neighborhood has low-hanging tree branches or phone lines), it could be difficult or even illegal to get an 80 ft transport truck to your location. Consider a more neutral spot such as a parking lot. 

It’s industry practice to ship vehicles with a quarter tank of fuel or less. Fuel weighs about 6 lb per gallon, and less fuel means less curb weight and lower shipping costs. 

Don’t forget to wash the car to make it easier to spot dings or scrapes when doing a pre-trip inspection. 

A transport driver might refuse to ship a vehicle with fluid leaks; please check your car for any motor oil, coolant, transmission, brake or power steering fluid leaks.