670-790
MILES, DEPENDING ON CITY PAIR
2-4
DAYS IN TRANSIT, TYPICAL
$600-$900
OPEN TRANSPORT, BY SEASON
Shipping a car from Alabama to Texas costs $600-$900 for open transport and takes 2-4 days after pickup, over roughly 670 to 790 miles. I-20 carries this lane end to end, west from Birmingham through Jackson and Shreveport into the Dallas and Fort Worth metroplex. Use the instant quote calculator on this page for an exact price on your dates.
Key Takeaways
Typical cost: Open transport on this lane runs $600-$900 for a standard running sedan, with larger SUVs and trucks quoted toward the top of the band.
Transit time: Plan on 2-4 days after pickup across all five popular city pairs on this corridor.
Seasonality: May through September is the industry peak, when quotes typically run $800-$900. October through April is the softer half of the year.
Savings tip: A flexible pickup window typically keeps your quote in the $600-$700 half of the band on this corridor.
Simple process: Birmingham and Huntsville pickups are typically scheduled within 1-3 days of booking, and every carrier runs $2M in cargo insurance.
The I-20 Corridor
I-20 is the backbone of this lane, running west from Birmingham through Tuscaloosa, across Mississippi through Meridian and Jackson, over the Mississippi River at Vicksburg, and across Louisiana through Shreveport before rolling straight into the Dallas and Fort Worth metroplex. Huntsville shipments typically drop south on I-65 or I-59 to join I-20.
Mobile pickups route up I-65 or along the Gulf on I-10 and I-49 before connecting to the same corridor. The main chokepoints are Jackson, where I-20 and I-55 converge, Shreveport, and the metroplex interchanges at the delivery end. Spring tornado outbreaks across Mississippi and Louisiana can pause loads for a day at a time.
Seasonality on the Alabama to Texas Corridor
This is not a snowbird lane, so pricing follows the national industry rhythm. May through September is peak season, driven by relocations, college moves, and summer job transfers into the Texas metroplex, and quotes during those months typically land toward $800-$900.
October through April typically softens, with quotes often settling in the $600-$700 range. One Gulf Coast wrinkle: hurricane season runs June through November, and a major storm can briefly disrupt pickups around Mobile even though pricing typically stays inside the band.
Shipping West: Alabama to Texas
Westbound volume is mostly household relocations into the Dallas and Fort Worth job market, students heading to Texas universities, and military families transferring from Alabama installations toward Texas commands. Birmingham and Huntsville pickups typically dispatch within 1-3 days of booking, while Mobile and outlying areas can add 1-2 days.
Summer quotes typically run $800-$900, while fall and winter moves often price closer to $600-$700. Because I-20 is a heavy freight lane, westbound trucks are usually easy to match outside of storm disruptions.
Shipping East: Texas to Alabama
Eastbound volume includes relocations back to Alabama, students returning for the school year, and a steady stream of auction and dealer purchases out of Dallas and Fort Worth sales. Auction pickups include 3-5 free storage days at most Texas sale locations.
Dallas, Fort Worth, and Plano pickups typically dispatch within 1-3 days because the metroplex is one of the busiest carrier markets in the country. Eastbound pricing mirrors westbound, typically $800-$900 in summer and $600-$700 in the cooler months.
Popular City Pairs on This Lane
- Birmingham, AL to Dallas, TX: 730 miles, 2-4 days
- Birmingham, AL to Fort Worth, TX: 760 miles, 2-4 days
- Huntsville, AL to Dallas, TX: 750 miles, 2-4 days
- Huntsville, AL to Fort Worth, TX: 790 miles, 2-4 days
- Mobile, AL to Plano, TX: 670 miles, 2-4 days
