Car Shipping Companies inSouth Dakota
3 auto transporters based in South Dakota hold an active FMCSA registration with motor vehicles declared as cargo and a fleet on file, the 47th-largest count of any state. The largest are below with the USDOT number you need to read each one's safety and insurance record.
Source: FMCSA Motor Carrier Census, snapshot September 24, 2026. Ordered by reported fleet. No paid placement.
- Listed carriers
- 3
- based in South Dakota
- Interstate authority
- 100%
- 3 may haul across state lines
- Safety rated
- 1
- Satisfactory rating on record
- Median fleet
- 1 truck
- US median 1
The 3 largest auto transporters in South Dakota
Largest by power units on each carrier's own MCS-150 filing, drivers as the tiebreak. A big fleet means more trucks on more lanes; it says nothing about how a car is treated on the deck, which is what the record behind each USDOT number is for.
- 1
Dakota Auto Carrier Llc
14258 Missile Road, Hermosa, SD 57744
- USDOT
- 2188319
- MC number
- MC843392
- Fleet
- 1 truck · 1 drivers
- Registered since
- 2011
- 2
Oakleaf Auto Transport
Legal name: Brian Oakleaf
26240 463Rd Ave, Hartford, SD 57033
- USDOT
- 239205
- MC number
- —
- Fleet
- 1 truck · 1 drivers
- Registered since
- 1983
- 3
Express Auto Transport Llc
519 West 22Nd Street Suite 100, Sioux Falls, SD 57105
- USDOT
- 3072695
- MC number
- MC62088
- Fleet
- 1 truck · 1 drivers
- Registered since
- 2017
Auto transporters within 80 miles of Sioux Falls
South Dakota has few carriers of its own on the register, so cars leaving the state usually ship with these. Distance is from the center of Sioux Falls to each carrier's ZIP code.
| Miles | Company | City | USDOT | Fleet | Authority | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 61 mi | Dreckmans Auto Transport Inc | Balaton, MN | 1552868 | 4 trucks | Interstate | Not rated |
Shipping a car out of South Dakota: the main lanes
Carriers price by lane, and a lane is priced by how easily a truck fills on it. These are the distances from Sioux Falls to the largest metros; measured routes are driving miles, the rest are estimated from straight-line distance and marked approximate.
| From Sioux Falls to | Distance | Truck drive time | Household move on this route |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York City, NY | ≈ 1,372 mi | 3 days | Priced route → |
| Los Angeles, CA | ≈ 1,546 mi | 4 days | Priced route → |
| Chicago, IL | ≈ 555 mi | 2 days | Priced route → |
| Dallas, TX | ≈ 868 mi | 2 days | Priced route → |
| Houston, TX | ≈ 1,114 mi | 3 days | Priced route → |
| Washington, DC | ≈ 1,247 mi | 3 days | Priced route → |
| Miami, FL | ≈ 1,796 mi | 4 days | Priced route → |
| Philadelphia, PA | ≈ 1,324 mi | 3 days | Priced route → |
Drive time assumes a loaded car hauler averaging about 55 mph with legal rest; a shared truck also stops for the other cars on the deck, so door-to-door takes longer than the drive.
What sets the price of a car shipped from South Dakota
We publish no price model for auto transport, so this page prints no dollar figures. What it can tell you is the structure of the quote, so you can read one.
The lane, not the mileage
A car going from Sioux Falls to a metro the carriers already run daily slots into a full truck. A pickup in a rural county is a detour the driver is paid for, and a delivery to a small town means running the last leg light.
Open or enclosed
Most cars ship on open two-level trucks. Enclosed trailers carry fewer cars, so each pays a bigger share of the truck; it is the right call for classics, exotics and low-clearance cars, not for a daily driver.
Size, weight and whether it runs
A full-size pickup takes the space of more than one sedan. A car that does not start must be winched, and fewer carriers take the job, which is what raises the price.
Season and direction
Trailer space is a market. When more cars want to leave South Dakota than arrive, outbound space tightens and inbound trucks run light; the carrier prices the direction it can fill.
Door-to-door or a meeting point
A 75-foot rig cannot enter most residential streets. Meeting at a wide lot costs the carrier less driving time than a true door pickup, and many quote it that way.
Flexibility
A pickup window of several days lets the broker post the job at a rate a carrier will actually accept. A fixed date is paid for.
The full explanation is in how car shipping is priced; the open-vs-enclosed decision has its own guide.
How to check a South Dakota auto transporter
Most quotes come from brokers, and the truck that arrives belongs to a carrier you have not spoken to. These five checks connect the two.
- 1
Match the USDOT number to the company
Ask which company's trucks will carry the car, then open that USDOT number on the FMCSA record. The legal name, the South Dakota address and the authority status should match what you were told. A broker quoting you has a different record from the carrier that shows up.
- 2
Check the authority is active and the MC number matches
Active operating authority is the licence to haul for hire across state lines. An inactive MC number, or one the company cannot produce, means the load would move without it.
- 3
Ask for the cargo insurance certificate
The certificate names the carrier, the insurer, the per-vehicle limit and the deductible. Your car is covered while it is on the truck only under that policy; nothing inside the car is.
- 4
Read the fleet line against the promise
A carrier reporting three trucks cannot run a dedicated truck to you next Tuesday and also be in three other states. Fleet size is self-reported, so treat it as a claim to test with a question, not as a guarantee.
- 5
Treat the inspection report as the contract
Existing damage is recorded at pickup on the bill of lading. Photograph the car beside the driver, check the report before you sign, and compare the car with it at delivery before signing again.
Related pages for South Dakota
Car shipping in South Dakota: questions people ask
How many car shipping companies are there in South Dakota?
3 carriers based in South Dakota are listed here: active on the FMCSA register, motor vehicles declared as cargo, an auto-transport name, and at least one truck or driver reported. Brokers are registered separately and are not in the count.
Who is the largest auto transporter in South Dakota?
By reported fleet, Dakota Auto Carrier Llc in Hermosa, SD, with 1 truck on its filing (USDOT 2188319). Fleet is self-reported and means capacity, not quality; read the record behind the number before you book.
How much does it cost to ship a car from South Dakota?
We publish no car-shipping price model, so this page prints no figures. The quote is set by the lane (Sioux Falls to New York City, NY is about 1,372 miles), open or enclosed transport, the size and condition of the car, the season and direction of travel, and how flexible your dates are. The pricing guide linked on this page explains each factor.
Are South Dakota car shippers insured?
Every carrier here holds active federal authority, which requires liability insurance on file. Cargo coverage for the car itself is the carrier's own policy; ask for the certificate with the per-vehicle limit and deductible, and note that personal items left in the car are never covered.
Is this list a recommendation?
No. It is the federal register filtered to auto transporters based in South Dakota and ordered by reported fleet. Nobody pays to appear, nothing is re-ranked, and we have used none of these companies. Use the USDOT number to read each carrier's own record.
About this page. Carriers are from the FMCSA Motor Carrier Census (snapshot September 24, 2026), filtered to active registrations with motor vehicles declared as cargo, an auto-transport name and a fleet on file, and ordered by reported power units. 5,830 registrations pass the filter nationally and 5,173 are listed. Nothing is re-ranked, nobody pays for placement, and we have not used any of these companies. Every row links to the live federal record.