COST & TIMING ·
Car Shipping During Holidays: What Changes Between Thanksgiving and New Year's?
By Genius Auto Trans · 7 minute read
The short answer: Car shipping during holidays works, but the calendar changes three things: fewer drivers take loads in Thanksgiving and Christmas weeks, lots and offices close early, and pickup windows widen. Book early, give a window that avoids the holiday itself, and name someone who can sign at both ends.
Thanksgiving falls on Thursday, November 26, 2026; Christmas Day and New Year's Day 2027 both land on a Friday. Those dates shape car shipping during holidays more than snow does, because they decide which drivers are working, which gates are open and who is home to sign. Paying for expedited auto transport can move your car up a carrier's list, but it cannot unlock a closed lot.
What changes with car shipping during holidays?
Car shipping during holidays doesn't stop; it gets uneven. Three things shift at once:
- Driver supply. Most car carriers are small trucking businesses whose drivers plan home time around family holidays, so fewer trucks look for loads that week.
- Endpoint hours. Dealerships, auction lots, body shops and storage yards run short hours or close.
- Overlapping demand. Holiday weeks coincide with the snowbird run south, college breaks and year-end dealer moves, so popular lanes fill sooner.
Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day are legal public holidays (5 U.S.C. 6103). For car shipping during holidays in 2026–27, plan around these dates:
| Holiday | 2026–27 date | What may run short hours | What to settle at booking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thanksgiving | Thu, Nov 26, 2026 | Dealers, auction lots, offices; Friday often short | A contact for Wednesday through Monday; lot hours in writing |
| Christmas | Fri, Dec 25, 2026 | Most businesses; many receivers traveling | A receiver home the week before; no Christmas-Day delivery |
| Between the holidays | Dec 26–31, 2026 | Reduced staff; fewer drivers | A wider window with a receiver for each day |
| New Year's | Fri, Jan 1, 2027 | Lots, DMVs, government offices | DMV visits after the car arrives |
Do truck drivers keep driving over Thanksgiving and Christmas?
The ones who work do. A carrier is the licensed motor carrier whose truck and driver move your car, and its drivers follow federal hours-of-service limits with no holiday exception (49 CFR 395.3):
- 10 consecutive hours off duty before driving, then at most 11 hours of driving inside a 14-hour window.
- A 30-minute break after 8 hours of driving.
- A cap of 60 hours on duty in 7 days, or 70 in 8; a 34-hour off-duty period restarts the count.
A driver who parks for the holiday returns to the same daily limits, so pickups cluster just before or after it, and the truck can't drive longer days to catch up. Holidays mostly stretch the wait for pickup, not the drive; our guide to pickup windows and transit time explains both.
Which pickups and deliveries get harder over a holiday?
A home-to-home move is usually the easiest, as long as someone is there at both ends. The harder ones:
- Auction and dealer lots. Release hours shrink while storage fees may keep running. Our dealer and auction transport team asks for the lot hours and release contact at booking.
- Businesses. Body shops and storage yards may stay closed the day after a holiday.
- Receivers who travel. If you'll be away, name a neighbor or relative who can inspect the car and sign.
- Event streets. Parades and holiday markets can close streets a 75–80 ft hauler needs; agree a nearby meeting point before dispatch.
The carrier calls 3 to 24 hours before delivery, as described in how a shipment moves from booking to delivery. Keep phones on, even on travel days.
When should you book car shipping during holidays?
As soon as you know your dates. No quote can promise a truck on a set day, but booking early gives your shipment more days to be matched with a carrier already running your lane before drivers head home.
- Give us your earliest pickup date and how many days either side work; a window that avoids the holiday itself draws more carriers.
- Where you can, keep pickups clear of Thanksgiving Wednesday through Monday and of December 24 through January 1.
- Name a pickup and delivery contact for every day of the window.
- Book DMV visits for after the car arrives; many DMVs close on legal holidays.
- Prepare for cold with our cold-weather prep checklist.
Is car shipping during holidays more expensive? It can be. Price follows how many carriers are working a lane and how many vehicles need moving, and both shift in holiday weeks. We quote your shipment, not a rate card, and the price agreed at booking is the price you pay.
Does expedited shipping help over the holidays?
Sometimes. Expedited transport raises what the carrier is paid so your car is the load they take first; it buys pickup priority, not a guaranteed date, and shortens the wait rather than the drive.
With car shipping during holidays, that helps when a few trucks are working your lane and choosing among loads. It doesn't help when nobody can release the car, the receiver is away, or a driver's hours are the limit. On a busy lane booked early, standard service is often enough, and we'll say so.
Can you ship a car as a holiday gift?
Yes, but plan for the car to arrive before the day, not on it; car shipping during holidays runs on estimates. Genius Auto Trans, a licensed auto transport broker, USDOT 3674601 / MC 1274912, Manassas, Virginia, books a vetted carrier; a broker arranges transport for pay without moving the vehicle itself. Nobody honest can promise Christmas morning.
- Deliver a few days early to a relative or neighbor in on the surprise.
- That person inspects the car and signs the bill of lading. A bill of lading (BOL) is the carrier's receipt and condition record for the vehicle, signed at pickup and again at delivery.
- Leave bows, wrapping and wrapped presents out of the car; carrier cargo insurance typically excludes personal items.
- Send the title separately by tracked mail, not in the glovebox.
Three holiday planning examples
These are planning scenarios, not customer stories, prices, transit estimates or guarantees.
New York to Florida: a snowbird car before Thanksgiving
The owner books in October for a pickup window starting the week of November 16, names a neighbor as backup contact, and accepts that delivery could slip past Thanksgiving. Our New York to Florida route page shows the distance and a planning band.
Pennsylvania to Texas: a gift car for a graduate
A parent buys from a private seller and sets an early-December pickup window. An aunt in Texas receives the car, inspects it and signs the bill of lading; the title travels by tracked mail.
Michigan to Arizona: a dealer purchase over New Year's
A buyer signs for a car on December 29. The lot runs short hours through January 1, so the buyer gets the release contact and hours in writing and sets a pickup window starting January 4.
Frequently asked questions
Do car carriers work on Thanksgiving and Christmas?
Some do, many don't. Carriers are mostly independent trucking businesses that set their own schedules, and federal hours-of-service limits apply on holidays as on any other day. Expect fewer trucks around each holiday and pickups that cluster just before or after it.
Is car shipping during holidays more expensive?
It can be. Price follows how many carriers are working a lane and how many vehicles need moving. When drivers take time off and snowbird and year-end moves pile up, the rate needed to attract a carrier can rise. We quote each shipment individually, and the price agreed at booking is the price you pay.
Can my car be delivered on Christmas Day?
Don't plan on it. Pickup and delivery dates are estimates, and most drivers and receivers are off that day. If the car needs to be there for Christmas, set the delivery window several days earlier and name someone who can inspect the car and sign the bill of lading at the address.
How far ahead should I book car shipping during holidays?
As soon as your dates are known. Booking early gives your shipment more days to be matched with a carrier already running your lane before drivers go home. Share your earliest pickup date and how flexible you are; a window that avoids the holiday itself attracts more carriers than one that depends on it.
Does Genius Auto Trans ship cars to Alaska or Hawaii for the holidays?
No. Genius Auto Trans arranges vehicle transport within the 48 contiguous states and Washington, DC only. We don't arrange shipments to Alaska, Hawaii or overseas, during the holidays or at any other time of year. If you're moving a car between any two of the lower 48 states or DC, we can quote it.
Plan your holiday shipment before the calendar fills
Tell us the vehicle, both ZIP codes, your earliest pickup date, the days that won't work and who will be at each end, and we'll plan car shipping during holidays around them. We arrange transport across the 48 contiguous states and Washington, DC, not Alaska, Hawaii or overseas. Call (800) 780-1113, answered 24/7.
Request my holiday car shipping quote →Planning sources
- 49 CFR 395.3 — Maximum driving time for property-carrying vehicles (eCFR)
- 5 U.S.C. 6103 — Legal public holidays (GovInfo, U.S. Code)
- 24VAC20-82-110 — Hauling permits: travel restrictions; holiday travel (Virginia Administrative Code)
- Arizona DOT — Which holidays restrict movement of oversize/overweight loads?