Blog

Are you looking to move and with that ship your vehicle to your new home? If so, in your hunt for an auto shipping company, have you come across the words brokers and carriers and you just are not sure what they mean? Or what the differences between the two may be? Well, let us clear up the confusion for you! Here at Columbus Auto Transport, we are a rarity as we operate both as highly professional carriers and as a licensed broker!

To start, what is a carrier?

A carrier is someone who drives and operates the truck that is doing the actual shipment. They work with a broker to schedule pick-ups and drop-offs. They are the ones responsible for the vehicle when it is in transit, and they operate within a set time frame. Most often, in the case of an item getting lost or damaged while it is being transported, the carrier takes responsibility and often has a certain type of insurance to cover this.

Now, what is a broker?

A broker is a separate company that does not own or operate any trucks for shipment. Brokers instead work with carriers and assign them to different shipping schedules. With this, they are also responsible for verifying all permits and authorities are up to date for a carrier.

So now the question is, do you work directly with a carrier or through a broker?

Ultimately, the choice is yours, but there are pros and cons to each. When you work directly with a carrier for a shipment, you cut the middleman. This means that you could be working with and talking directly with the person who will be driving the truck shipping your vehicle. Separately, working with a broker will likely mean you will get a reduced rate for your shipment. Brokers often have negotiated deals with a large network of carriers, and this will mean that they will be able to find a carrier for you for a lower price.

Here, we have both carriers and brokers. We have a select list of carriers that are a part of our Columbus Auto Transport family directly, but we also operate as brokers and work with outside carriers to find the right shipper for you!