Illinois to Texas car shipping
Shipping a car from Illinois to Texas costs roughly $1,140–$1,300 and takes 4–5 days over 1,086 road miles (Chicago to Houston). Below is what moves that number, and how to get real quotes for this lane.
| Vehicle & trailer | Price | Transit |
|---|---|---|
| Sedan, open trailer | $1,140–$1,300 | 4–5 days |
| SUV or crossover, open | $1,220–$1,390 | 4–5 days |
| Any vehicle, enclosed | $1,530–$1,740 | 4–5 days |
Estimates from distance and vehicle type. Actual price depends on how busy the lane is the week you ship.
Chicago to Houston — the metros the road distance is measured between — is the corridor where direction almost stops mattering. The multiplier the model puts on the run south sits within a whisker of the one it puts on the return north, closer than on any lane priced by hand here. A carrier delivering into Texas is not pricing a hunt for its next load into your quote, and neither is one delivering into Illinois.
Shopping it is simpler than most lanes. Season still moves the estimate — this is a snowbird corridor and the load runs south — and vehicle size and enclosed transport move it more. But the compass, which elsewhere is the heaviest lever, is nearly inert here. What is left to compare is the company.
This corridor, measured
| Illinois → Texas | back | |
|---|---|---|
| Measured between | Chicago → Houston | Houston → Chicago |
| Road miles | 1,086 | 1,082 |
| Transit | 4–5 days | 4–5 days |
| Open carrier, sedan | $1,140–$1,300 | $1,140–$1,290 |
| Direction multiplier | 0.987 | 0.984 |
| Carrier reloads at the far end | 0.86 — with some hunting | 0.88 |
| Licensed companies based there | 128 | 272 |
Distance is measured between Chicago and Houston by a routing engine, not as a straight line. Registered companies at the Illinois end cluster in Chicago, Plainfield, Schaumburg; at the Texas end, in Houston, El Paso, Dallas. A register counts businesses filed at an address, not trucks on this road today.
The other direction has its own page: Texas to Illinois.
The Illinois end clusters, the Texas end spreads
Illinois registers its carriers and brokers in a tight cluster — Chicago itself, then Plainfield, Schaumburg, Naperville and Downers Grove, the suburban ring around it. Texas spreads them across the state: Houston leads, but El Paso, Dallas, McAllen and Brownsville each carry their own registered companies, and the Texas register is the deeper of the ends. The panel counts carriers and brokers separately at each end. It matters because the company that answers at the Texas end need not be based anywhere near your delivery address.
Long run, easy reload at the Houston end
The run is long without being coast-to-coast, and the transit window in the panel is the window a carrier needs to build a full deck around your car rather than run it alone. The far end reloads well: a truck that unloads around Houston can pick up its next load without hunting, and that is the reason neither leg of this corridor carries a scarcity premium. Corridors that end somewhere a carrier has to leave empty are the ones where direction becomes the biggest thing on the invoice. This is not one of them.
When to ship it
This lane runs with the retiree migration, and that migration is one-way at a time: Texas fills up from October and empties from March. Whichever way the trucks are scarce is the way that costs more, so a month of flexibility is worth more here than any amount of negotiating.
| Month | Sedan, open trailer | vs year-round |
|---|---|---|
| January | $1,260–$1,430 | +10% |
| March | $1,000–$1,140 | -12% |
| May | $1,140–$1,300 | level |
| July | $1,280–$1,450 | +12% |
| October | $1,370–$1,560 | +20% |
Indicative only. Fuel is indexed to the U.S. weekly retail diesel average, last read 2026-09-07.
What drives the price on this lane
- Distance. 1,086 miles puts this lane at about $1.12 a mile. Past 1,200 miles the per-mile rate keeps dropping but driver hours start to bind — the run needs rest stops, and a carrier will hold for a second or third car before rolling.
- Season. This is a snowbird lane. Southbound fills from October and northbound from April, and in those windows a week of lead time is worth more than any amount of haggling. Running south, this lane competes with everyone else heading for warmer weather in autumn.
- Direction. Texas is a dense freight market, so a carrier delivering here can reload quickly and does not need the trip to pay for the run back. This direction usually prices a little under Texas to Illinois.
- Trailer. Enclosed protects from weather and road debris and costs about 34% more here ($1,530–$1,740). The premium grows with distance — an enclosed trailer carries fewer cars, so the longer the run the more deck revenue the carrier gives up. Worth it for low-clearance, classic or high-value cars; rarely worth it otherwise.
- Condition. A car that does not run needs a winch at both ends and adds about $200. Tell the broker up front — a driver who finds out at pickup can refuse the load.
Pickup and delivery on this lane
The companies that run Illinois to Texas are registered in these cities. A carrier based near either end is the one most likely to already be heading your way, which is what makes the difference between a quote and a quote you can actually book.
Picking up around Illinois
- Chicago10
- Plainfield6
- Schaumburg5
- Naperville4
- Burbank3
- Downers Grove3
- Tinley Park3
- Addison2
- Beardstown2
- Buffalo Grove2
Delivering around Texas
- Houston27
- El Paso17
- Dallas12
- Mcallen12
- Brownsville9
- Katy8
- Edinburg7
- Austin6
- Laredo6
- Pharr6
Counts are companies with active FMCSA authority registered in each city.
Licensed companies based in Illinois
128 companies with active FMCSA authority are registered in Illinois.
- ABOVE AUTO TRANSPORT LLCBUFFALO GROVE, IL · broker · bonded
- AM/PM PREMIUM CAR CARRIER CO.CHICAGO, IL · broker · bonded
- AMERICAN AUTO TRANSPORTATION, LTD.DOWNERS GROVE, IL · broker · bonded
- AUTO DRIVEAWAYLOMBARD, IL · broker & carrier · bonded
- AUTO SHIPPING GROUP LLCSCHAUMBURG, IL · broker · bonded
- AUTO TRANSPORT CHICAGO INCMELROSE PARK, IL · broker · bonded
All Illinois auto transport companies →
Illinois to Texas: common questions
Does the Texas to Illinois direction price the same?+
Nearly, and that is the unusual part. Every lane here carries a direction multiplier on the driving, and on this corridor the southbound figure and the northbound one land almost on top of each other. Far more people look this route up heading south than heading north, but the freight market does not share that lopsidedness, and the estimate barely moves when you reverse the ends. The return lane has its own page and its own panel.
What does the season do to a Chicago to Houston quote?+
This is a snowbird corridor and the load is heading south, so the model treats the southbound leg as the scarce side when the migration is running and the returning leg as repositioning, which discounts. Summer moving season lifts everything regardless of direction. The panel applies whichever month you choose, so if your dates are loose, compare months side by side and read the swing off the estimate rather than guessing at it.
My delivery is Dallas, not Houston — does this page still apply?+
The corridor logic does; the distance does not. The distance behind the panel was measured Chicago to Houston, the largest metro at each end, and the Texas end spreads far enough that Dallas, El Paso, McAllen and Brownsville are materially different runs. Read this page for how the direction, the season and the reload at the far end shape the price, then let the companies quote your real pickup and delivery addresses.
How much does it cost to ship a car from Illinois to Texas?+
Expect $1,140 to $1,300 for a running sedan on an open trailer. An SUV on the same lane runs about $1,220–$1,390, and an enclosed trailer about $1,530–$1,740.
How long does it take to ship a car from Illinois to Texas?+
About 4 to 5 days in transit over 1,086 miles, plus one to three days to schedule pickup after you book.
Can the carrier pick up and deliver to my door?+
Yes on almost every lane. The truck gets as close as it legally and physically can — on a narrow residential street the driver will ask you to meet at a nearby lot.
How do I ship my car from Illinois to Texas?+
Give the two ZIP codes and what you drive, and the request goes to a panel of licensed companies at once instead of you calling down a list. They quote, you compare side by side, and you deal directly with whoever you pick — we take no commission and nobody gets your number until you hand it over. You do not travel with the car: the driver collects it, you both sign an inspection report, and the same happens at the far end.
More lanes from Illinois
More lanes to Texas
Where is the car going?
Two ZIP codes. No account, no obligation.
Shipping somewhere else in Texas? Texas car transport →