Shipping a car to or from Louisiana costs roughly $690 to $1,690 on an open carrier, depending on distance. Vehicles are usually collected one to three days after dispatch. Louisiana sits on I‑10, the Gulf Coast’s main east–west artery, so carrier traffic is steady year round — with one large exception: hurricane season, from 1 June to 30 November.
Common Questions About Car Shipping in Louisiana
How much does it cost to ship a car to or from Louisiana?
Open-carrier moves run about $690 to $1,690 depending on distance — roughly $690 to Miami, $740 to Chicago, $850 to New York and $1,230 to Los Angeles from New Orleans. Shorter runs to Houston, Dallas and Atlanta fall below the published long-haul rate table and are quoted individually.
How long does car shipping take from Louisiana?
Transit runs from pickup, not from booking, and pickup normally happens one to three days after dispatch. Expect one to two days to Texas or the Southeast, two to four days to Chicago or Florida, and five to seven days to the Pacific Northwest.
Does hurricane season affect car shipping in Louisiana?
Significantly, and it is the single most important thing to plan around. The Atlantic season runs 1 June to 30 November. Evacuation orders stop collections outright, and carriers reroute away from the coast ahead of a storm. Between June and November, build slack into the pickup window rather than committing to a fixed date.
Can you ship a car to or from the Port of New Orleans?
Yes. The Port of New Orleans and the Port of South Louisiana handle substantial vehicle and cargo traffic, and carriers run the I‑10 corridor to them daily. Terminal collections need release paperwork and someone who can meet the driver inside the appointment window, so flag it as a port move when you request the quote.
Is open or enclosed transport better for Louisiana?
Open transport is the sensible default and costs materially less. Enclosed is worth considering for classics and high-value vehicles, and it has a practical argument on Gulf Coast routes during storm season, when humidity, salt air and weather delays are all real.
Do you handle military and student moves in Louisiana?
Regularly. Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier City, Fort Johnson near Leesville and Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans in Belle Chasse generate steady PCS traffic. LSU in Baton Rouge, Tulane in New Orleans and UL Lafayette drive an August and May student peak — book those windows early.
Louisiana Car Transport Routes & Highways
| Interstate Highways | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| I-10: A major east-west corridor traversing southern Louisiana, connecting Lake Charles, Lafayette, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans, and extending from the Texas border to the Mississippi border. | |||
| I-12: Runs parallel to I-10, providing a shortcut across the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain, linking Baton Rouge to Slidell. | |||
| I-20: Crosses northern Louisiana, connecting Shreveport, Monroe, and extending from the Texas border to the Mississippi border. | |||
| I-49: Runs north-south through western Louisiana, connecting Lafayette, Alexandria, Shreveport, and extending toward the Arkansas border. | |||
| I-55: Extends north-south through eastern Louisiana, connecting New Orleans to the Mississippi border near Kentwood. | |||
| I-59: Begins in Slidell and runs northeast toward the Mississippi border, serving as a connector to Hattiesburg and beyond. | |||
| I-110: A short spur in Baton Rouge, connecting I-10 to downtown and the state capitol. | |||
| I-210: A loop around the southern part of Lake Charles, providing an alternative route to I-10. | |||
| I-310: Connects I-10 near Kenner to U.S. Route 90 near Boutte, serving the southwestern suburbs of New Orleans. | |||
| I-510: A short spur in eastern New Orleans, connecting I-10 to U.S. Route 90. | |||
| I-610: An inner loop through New Orleans, providing a shortcut for I-10 traffic bypassing downtown. | |||
What It Costs to Ship a Car From Louisiana
Distance sets the baseline. On long hauls AutoTransport.com’s published open-transport pricing works out at about $0.65 per mile above 1,000 miles and about $0.80 per mile below it, because loading, dispatch and paperwork are fixed costs that spread across more distance. The table below is measured from New Orleans, LA.
| Route | Approx. road miles | Open transport, estimated | Typical transit |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Orleans, LA → Houston, TX | 350 | Quote required * | 1–2 days |
| New Orleans, LA → Atlanta, GA | 470 | Quote required * | 1–2 days |
| New Orleans, LA → Dallas, TX | 500 | Quote required * | 1–2 days |
| New Orleans, LA → Nashville, TN | 530 | Quote required * | 1–2 days |
| New Orleans, LA → Miami, FL | 860 | $690 | 2–4 days |
| New Orleans, LA → Chicago, IL | 925 | $740 | 2–4 days |
| New Orleans, LA → Denver, CO | 1,300 | $845 | 4–6 days |
| New Orleans, LA → New York, NY | 1,310 | $850 | 4–6 days |
| New Orleans, LA → Boston, MA | 1,510 | $980 | 4–6 days |
| New Orleans, LA → Phoenix, AZ | 1,510 | $980 | 4–6 days |
| New Orleans, LA → Los Angeles, CA | 1,890 | $1,230 | 4–6 days |
| New Orleans, LA → Seattle, WA | 2,600 | $1,690 | 5–7 days |
* Routes under 650 miles sit below AutoTransport.com’s shortest published long-haul rate and are quoted individually rather than extrapolated. All figures are estimates for a standard operable sedan on an open carrier — run your own route through the calculator for a live number.
Louisiana’s Shipping Corridors
Four interstates carry almost all of the state’s vehicle freight, and Louisiana’s water makes some of them behave differently from the map.
I‑10 — the Gulf Coast artery
I‑10 runs the width of the state from the Texas line through Lake Charles, Lafayette, Baton Rouge and New Orleans to Mississippi. It carries the bulk of Louisiana’s carrier traffic, including the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge — at about 18 miles, one of the longest bridges in the United States.
I‑12 — the northern bypass
I‑12 runs from Baton Rouge through Hammond to Slidell, letting through-traffic skip New Orleans entirely. Carriers use it constantly, which is why a Northshore pickup often schedules faster than one in the city centre.
I‑20 and I‑49 — the north and the spine
I‑20 serves Shreveport and Monroe in the north, on the Dallas–Atlanta lane. I‑49 runs north from Lafayette through Alexandria to Shreveport, connecting the two halves of the state. Both are well served, though less densely than I‑10.
Water, Bridges and Access
Louisiana geography creates constraints that catch people out.
- The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway. Nearly 24 miles and the longest continuous bridge over water anywhere, but it is not a carrier route. Loaded transporters use I‑10 or I‑55 instead, so a Northshore-to-Southshore move is longer in practice than it looks on a map.
- New Orleans street access. The French Quarter, Marigny and much of Uptown cannot take a 75-to-80-foot carrier. Collections are normally arranged at a nearby wide street or retail lot — standard practice here, not a downgrade.
- Mardi Gras. Parade routes close large parts of the metro for days at a stretch in February or March. Pickups inside the parade box are effectively impossible during that window.
Seasonality
Louisiana runs on three overlapping cycles. Hurricane season, 1 June to 30 November, dominates everything and is the reason flexible dates matter more here than in most states. Mardi Gras closes the New Orleans core for several days in late winter. And the student turnover in August and May moves vehicles around Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Lafayette and Ruston, compressing pickup windows in those towns.
Energy, Ports and Bases
Offshore and energy
Louisiana’s offshore industry runs on rotational schedules, which produces a steady stream of single-vehicle moves in and out of Houma, Morgan City and Lafayette timed to hitch changes rather than to the calendar.
Ports
The Port of New Orleans and the Port of South Louisiana are among the busiest in the country by tonnage and handle vehicle movement alongside bulk cargo. Both sit directly on the I‑10 corridor.
Military installations
Barksdale Air Force Base, Fort Johnson and NAS JRB New Orleans generate a steady PCS calendar. Base access rules usually mean the handover happens at an off-base meet-point, which we arrange in advance.
What We Need to Quote a Louisiana Move
Five details set the entire price.
- Pickup and delivery ZIP codes — not just the city. A Garden District address and a bayou parish address are different jobs.
- The vehicle’s year, make and model.
- Whether it runs, steers and brakes. Non-running vehicles need a winch-equipped carrier.
- Your earliest available date, and how flexible it is — which matters most between June and November.
- Open or enclosed.
Car Shipping by Louisiana City
Each city page carries its own route table, transit bands and local pickup notes.
New to this? Read how car shipping works, step by step, or browse car shipping by state.
| U.S. Highways: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| US 61: Known as the "Airline Highway," it runs from New Orleans through Baton Rouge toward the Mississippi border. | |||
| US 65: Runs north-south along the eastern part of the state, connecting the Mississippi border near Lake Providence to the Arkansas border. | |||
| US 71: Traverses the state from the Arkansas border through Shreveport and Alexandria, continuing southward. | |||
| US 80: Runs east-west through northern Louisiana, connecting Shreveport and Monroe, extending from the Texas border to the Mississippi border. | |||
| US 84: Crosses central Louisiana from the Texas border near Logansport through Winnfield to the Mississippi border near Vidalia. | |||
| US 90: Known as the "Old Spanish Trail," it parallels I-10 across southern Louisiana, connecting Lake Charles, Lafayette, and New Orleans. | |||
| US 165: Runs north-south through the state, connecting Lake Charles, Alexandria, and Monroe, extending from the Texas border to the Arkansas border. | |||
| US 167: Traverses from the Arkansas border through Ruston and Alexandria to Lafayette. | |||
| US 171: Runs north-south in western Louisiana, connecting Lake Charles to Shreveport. | |||
| US 190: Crosses the state from the Texas border near DeRidder through Baton Rouge to the Mississippi border near Hammond. | |||
There are several auto shipping route options across Louisiana. Whether you're getting door-to-door car shipping services or terminal-to-terminal we'll deliver your vehicle safely and on time.
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| Louisiana Cities Car Transport | ||
|---|---|---|
| Alexandria, LA | Baton Rouge, LA | Bossier, LA |
| Houma, LA | Kenner, LA | Lafayette, LA |
| Lake Charles, LA | Laplace, LA | Marrero, LA |
| Metairie, LA | Monroe, LA | New Iberia, LA |
| New Orleans, LA | Prairieville, LA | Shreveport, LA |
