Auto transport to and from Florida — Miami, Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville, and every coast in between.
Florida is one of the two or three busiest auto transport markets in the country, and Crestline moves vehicles across all of it. The state runs on a seasonal rhythm: snowbirds pour in from October through December and leave from March through May, and those months reshape pricing on every lane. Add four working seaports, one of the largest auction markets in the Southeast, and a permanent stream of relocations, and Florida rarely has a carrier shortage — it has timing.
Most vehicles moving to or from Florida land between a few hundred dollars for a short Southeast run and roughly twenty-two hundred for a cross-country enclosed move. Florida’s seasonal swing is steep enough that the month you book often matters as much as the distance you’re covering.
October through December, carriers run full heading into Florida and light heading out, so inbound costs more. March through May flips it entirely. If your dates have any flexibility, moving them a few weeks against the seasonal flow can change the rate meaningfully on the exact same route.
Florida is about eight hundred miles end to end. Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Jacksonville all have constant carrier presence. The Panhandle west of Tallahassee, the Keys, and the rural interior are a different equation, and the Keys in particular require planning around bridge and access limits.
Vehicles arriving at Jacksonville, Port Everglades, Miami, or Tampa are governed by release timing rather than driving distance. Storage fees accrue quickly. Scheduling a carrier for the release date rather than after it is usually the biggest cost you control.
Open transport handles the overwhelming majority of moves and costs meaningfully less. Enclosed makes sense for an exotic headed to South Florida, a restored classic, a vehicle you want kept out of salt air or anything where the paint is the point. Expect enclosed to run roughly 40 to 60 percent higher.
Every fall, an enormous number of vehicles move south into Florida. Every spring they go back. This isn’t a minor seasonal bump — it’s the defining feature of auto transport in this state, and it moves rates in both directions. We plan around it rather than pretending it doesn’t exist. If you make the trip annually, booking both legs at once locks in your schedule before the peak weeks compress.
JAXPORT in Jacksonville, Port Everglades near Fort Lauderdale, PortMiami, and Port Tampa Bay all handle vehicle cargo, including a significant volume of imports and exports to Latin America and the Caribbean. We coordinate port pickups regularly. The release date is the pivot point — clear customs, settle storage, send us the date, and we schedule the carrier for it.
MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Naval Station Mayport, Eglin Air Force Base, and Naval Air Station Pensacola all generate steady PCS relocation volume. Florida sees constant military movement year-round, and we handle these moves regularly. Report dates drive the schedule, so send us yours and we build backward from it.
Late spring through summer is generally the best window for inbound moves, because carriers are running lighter in that direction after snowbird season ends. October through December is the most expensive time to ship into Florida and the cheapest time to ship out. Shifting your dates by even two or three weeks can change the rate noticeably.
From the Southeast, one to three days. From the Northeast or Midwest, three to five. From Texas, three to five. From the West Coast, seven to ten. Florida has strong carrier availability year-round, but during the October to December peak, pickup windows widen because demand outruns capacity on inbound lanes.
Constantly — it’s one of the most common moves we run. If you make the trip annually, book both legs at the same time. You lock in the schedule before peak weeks tighten, and it saves you doing this twice. Four to six weeks of lead time on the fall and spring windows is not too early, and often makes the difference on price.
Yes, but it requires a carrier equipped with a winch, which is a smaller pool of trucks and costs more than a standard move. Tell us up front whether the vehicle rolls, brakes, and steers. That determines what equipment we dispatch, and finding out at pickup means a wasted trip and a rescheduled move for everyone.
Every carrier we dispatch carries active cargo insurance, and we verify that coverage before assigning your vehicle. Your own auto policy typically remains in effect as well. The condition report signed at pickup and delivery is what actually protects you, so inspect the vehicle at both ends and note anything you see before signing off.
