Auto Transport · buyers-guide
Auto transport (vehicle shipping) is a load-board + broker network business. The shipper has a vehicle to move from Florida to California for $1,200.
The US auto transport industry generates roughly $15 billion in annual revenue across 10,000+ carriers and brokers. Average vehicle move runs $1,200 ($500 short-haul, $2,500+ cross-country, $5,000+ for exotic or oversized). Three structural realities shape the software decision: Load boards are the marketplace. Super Dispatch and Central Dispatch, the country's largest self-managed auto transportation marketplace, are the dominant load boards where shippers post vehicles and carriers bid for the loads. A carrier without load board integration runs on phone calls and email negotiations, capturing 20-30% of the loads they could otherwise see. Native sync with Super Dispatch and Central Dispatch is table stakes for any auto transport software in 2026. Dealer and auction accounts are the recurring revenue base. Used car dealerships and auction houses (Manheim with around 145 US locations, ADESA, Copart) need continuous vehicle movement. A carrier with a dealer/auction portal where the dealer can submit vehicles with self-service photos turns each dealer into a 10-50 vehicle/month recurring account worth $12,000-$60,000/month per account. Most carriers chase one-off consumer loads because they don't have the portal to scale dealer relationships. Condition report photo audit defends against damage claims. Auto transport damage claims average $800-$2,500 per incident. The carrier with structured pickup + delivery photo capture (8 angles per vehicle, signed inspection report) wins 70-80% of damage disputes. The carrier with verbal "looked fine to me" notes loses. Software with structured condition report workflow pays for itself in one prevented claim.
Website: superdispatch.com Pricing: Demo required. Best for: Carriers and brokers wanting end-to-end TMS with load board integration. Super Dispatch is the dominant auto transport TMS, used by tens of thousands of carriers. The platform combines load board access, carrier TMS, driver mobile app, and customer portal in one product. Strengths: Industry-standard, mature TMS workflow, strong mobile app, established carrier community. Gaps: Demo pricing, designed primarily for carriers (less optimized for shipper-first workflow).
Website: centraldispatch.com Pricing: Demo required. Best for: Brokers and carriers needing the largest load board access. Central Dispatch is the largest load board in auto transport, owned by Cox Automotive since 2015. The platform focuses on the load-matching marketplace rather than full TMS workflow. Strengths: Largest load board, broker-friendly, established marketplace, Cox Automotive backing across the full vehicle logistics ecosystem. Gaps: Less TMS depth than Super Dispatch (often paired with separate TMS), demo pricing.
Website: runbuggy.com Pricing: Demo required. Best for: Modern UI focus, mobile-first carriers. RunBuggy is the newer entrant in auto transport software, with a stronger mobile workflow and modern UI vs the established platforms. Strengths: Modern UI, mobile-first design, growing carrier adoption. Gaps: Smaller load board network than Super Dispatch and Central Dispatch (Cox Automotive's flagship vehicle logistics marketplace), demo pricing.
Website: optimizeit.ai/auto-transport Pricing: Core plan $79/mo annual ($99/mo monthly), 2 seats included, $25/mo per extra seat.
Pricing data sourced from each vendor's pricing page as of June 2026.
1-3 truck auto transport carrier: Super Dispatch (industry standard TMS) + Central Dispatch (largest load board). Most carriers run both. Costs $200-$500/mo combined depending on negotiated tier. 3-10 truck carrier needing dealer recurring + condition audit + 24/7 AI quoting: OptimizeIt Pro at $239/mo annual ($299/mo monthly) with Super/Central integration. Replaces dual subscription + adds the dealer portal and 24/7 AI Voice Agent that Super Dispatch and Central Dispatch don't have natively. Modern UI + mobile-first carrier: RunBuggy (demo). Worth evaluating if you primarily run a small fleet with younger drivers who prefer modern UX. Brokers (not carriers): Central Dispatch + a broker-specific TMS layer like CompcarePM. OptimizeIt is built for carrier workflow, not pure broker workflow. Multi-fleet ops with 10+ trucks: Super Dispatch enterprise plus enterprise add-ons. OptimizeIt fits the 3-10 truck range; at 10+ the per-tech sophistication of Super Dispatch enterprise pulls ahead.
For a 5-truck auto transport carrier switching from a Super Dispatch + Central Dispatch stack to OptimizeIt, the typical 3-week migration: Week 1: Customer + dealer account import, vehicle history import (VIN + condition report archive), Super Dispatch + Central Dispatch API credential setup. Week 2: Load board sync calibration (pull active loads from both boards, push status updates back), photo + VIN quoting workflow setup with 10-15 sample loads, dealer portal soft-launch with 3-5 key dealers. Week 3: Driver training (1 hour on mobile app + condition report photo capture), parallel run with old stack for 2 weeks. Week 4-5: Full cutover with dual-system fallback, retire old stack after Week 5 validation. The bottleneck is condition report photo capture training. Drivers used to taking 2-3 photos at pickup need to switch to 8 angles per vehicle. The damage-claim-defense ROI in the first 3-6 months pays this back.
For carriers wanting load board access + load matching, Super Dispatch + Central Dispatch (industry standards, demos required). For carriers needing dealer recurring + condition audit + multi-hauler routing in one platform, OptimizeIt Pro at $239/mo annual ($299/mo monthly) with Super/Central integration.
OptimizeIt Core at $79/mo annual ($99/mo monthly), or Pro at $239/mo annual ($299/mo monthly) for 24/7 AI Voice Agent. Super Dispatch, Central Dispatch, RunBuggy all require demos.
For carriers, yes, these are the industry-standard load boards. Most loads originate on Central Dispatch; Super Dispatch handles TMS + carrier workflow. OptimizeIt integrates with both so you can run your operations on OptimizeIt while sourcing loads from the standard boards.
OptimizeIt's VIN + photo quoting uses VIN database for vehicle dimensions + condition photos for damage assessment. Returns binding quote.
Damage disputes are the most common auto transport claim. Pickup + delivery photo audit with timestamp + GPS protects against false claims.
OptimizeIt's dealer + auction portal lets dealers submit transport requests directly. Locks recurring volume.
2-4 weeks for 3-truck carriers. Configuration includes load board integration, dealer account import, condition audit templates.
Yes. Post-delivery SMS to shippers converts at 1 in 4. Reviews drive load-board visibility for the next year.