1-3
DAYS TO PICKUP, MEMPHIS METRO
$350-$1,400
OPEN TRANSPORT, BY DESTINATION
I-40 · I-55 · I-22
CARRIER CORRIDORS SERVING MEMPHIS
Key Takeaways
Typical cost: Open transport from Memphis runs $350-$500 to Atlanta, $400-$600 to Dallas, $450-$700 to Chicago, $800-$1,150 to New York, and $1,000-$1,400 to Los Angeles. Enclosed transport typically adds 40-60 percent.
Transit time: Expect 1-2 days to Atlanta and the mid-South, 1-3 days to Dallas or Chicago, 2-4 days to the Northeast, and 4-7 days to the West Coast.
Seasonality: Memphis pricing tracks the national freight cycle more than local weather. Summer is the busiest moving window and rates run $150-$300 above winter on the same lane. January and February are usually the cheapest months to book.
Savings tip: Flexible dates get the best rate. Memphis sits where I-40 and I-55 cross, so carriers pass through in every direction all week. Giving your coordinator a two or three day window instead of one fixed date usually puts your car on a truck that is already routed through town.
Process: You work with a dedicated coordinator, your vehicle moves on a vetted and insured carrier, nothing is due until a driver is assigned, and GPS tracking covers the trip.
Popular Routes to and from Memphis
Memphis sits where I-40 and I-55 cross, the east-west and north-south freight spines of the mid-South. Add I-22 running southeast toward Birmingham and you get one of the deepest carrier pools in the country. Volume from the FedEx air hub and the Mississippi River distribution corridor keeps trucks moving through town every day of the week, which is why Memphis pickups usually land inside a 1-3 day window. For rates and routes across the rest of the state, see our Tennessee car shipping guide.
- Memphis to Atlanta - 385 miles, 1-2 days (see the Georgia state guide)
- Memphis to Dallas - 450 miles, 1-3 days
- Memphis to Chicago - 530 miles, 1-3 days
- Memphis to New York - 1,100 miles, 2-4 days
- Memphis to Los Angeles - 1,800 miles, 4-7 days
Pickup and Delivery Logistics in Memphis
Memphis is a freight town first, and that works in your favor. The warehouse districts serving the FedEx hub and the river terminals give drivers plenty of legal places to load and unload, so staging a full-size hauler is rarely the problem here that it is in denser cities.
Downtown is the exception. A 75-foot car hauler cannot work the narrow one-way streets around Beale Street or the South Main district, so drivers arrange a meeting point at a nearby lot instead, usually a few minutes away. Your coordinator confirms the exact spot before pickup day. East Memphis, Germantown, Collierville, and Cordova have the street width for direct door-to-door service in most cases.
