Central Dispatch auto transport is the central digital marketplace where auto transport brokers and car carriers connect to move vehicles across the country. If you need to ship a car, you have probably heard of it. People often wonder how exactly this powerful tool works and who uses it.
The platform is the engine driving the US vehicle shipping industry, but for many customers, the process remains a mystery. Understanding what is Central Dispatch and how Central Dispatch car shipping works gives you power as a consumer. This guide offers a simple breakdown of the platform, showing how brokers use it to find a reliable car carrier for your move.
Ready to see how our process works for you? Get a quote for reliable, fully-insured auto transport services, including open or enclosed options, and secure your spot today!
Table Of Contents
How Central Dispatch Works in Auto Transport
What information do brokers post on Central Dispatch?
How does Central Dispatch verify brokers and carriers?
Central Dispatch for Brokers — A Tool for Efficiency
Why do brokers rely on Central Dispatch?
How does Central Dispatch help brokers get better carrier rates?
Are there tools or integrations available for brokers?
Central Dispatch for Car Haulers & Carriers
How do car haulers use Central Dispatch to find loads?
What are the pros and cons of using Central Dispatch for car haulers?
What subscription options are available for car carriers?
Central Dispatch Platform Explained
Features
User Experience
Safety and Verified Transactions
How Much Does It Cost to Use Central Dispatch?
Membership and Subscription Costs
Central Dispatch Pricing Compared to Competitors
Central Dispatch vs. Other Auto Transport Platforms
Central Dispatch Reviews Summary
Who Should (and Shouldn’t) Use Central Dispatch?
The Industry’s Most Common Queries
Taking Control of Your Vehicle Transport
How Central Dispatch Works in Auto Transport
The core of central dispatch auto transport is efficiency. It connects the three key players—brokers, carriers, and dealers—on a single, essential platform.
Think of it as the vehicle shipping industry’s stock exchange. Brokers like us use it to post available jobs, and car carriers (the actual haulers) check it constantly to find loads that fit their routes. This ensures trucks stay full, which is vital to keeping your shipping cost competitive.
What information do brokers post on Central Dispatch?
When we post a job on the central dispatch car shipping platform, we give the car carrier everything they need to make a decision and complete the job.
The listing includes details like:
Vehicle Specifications: Make, model, year, and whether the car runs or not (inoperable vehicles cost more to move).
Logistics: Exact pickup and delivery locations (zip codes are key), desired date ranges, and the type of transport required for example open carrier transport or enclosed carrier transport.
Payment: The price we offer the carrier to move the vehicle. This rate must be competitive to ensure a fast pickup.
We use our experience and market knowledge to set a price that attracts a reliable carrier right away. This is a core function of central dispatch for brokers.
How does Central Dispatch verify brokers and carriers?
The platform maintains trust through verification. You should know that simply having an account does not mean a company is automatically top-tier, but the system does mandate certain legal requirements.
Both brokers and carriers must have valid licensing to get access:
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA): All users must provide proof of their active USDOT and Motor Carrier (MC) numbers.
Insurance: Carriers must show proof of cargo insurance. This is non-negotiable for us. We also offer AFTA GAP Protection for extra coverage.
On top of this, a transactional rating system tracks performance. Every time a carrier delivers a car for a broker or dealer, they receive a rating. As a veteran transport company, we use these ratings, alongside our own strict vetting process, to choose only the best car haulers using Central Dispatch for car haulers. This process is crucial to securing safe central dispatch vehicle shipping for you.
Central Dispatch for Brokers — A Tool for Efficiency
If you want to move vehicles consistently and reliably, you need to understand the function of Central Dispatch for brokers. This platform is not just a resource; it is the fundamental tool that drives our business efficiency.
Why do brokers rely on Central Dispatch?
Brokers rely on it because it provides immediate access to the entire national network of carriers. Before the internet, this process involved endless phone calls.
Now, we can post a job and instantly present it to thousands of car haulers using Central Dispatch at once.
This massive, active marketplace minimizes the time your vehicle sits waiting for a truck.
We get real-time visibility into who is driving which routes, making our decision-making quick and impactful.
It simply transforms a slow, regional hunt into a fast, nationwide auction for your transport job.
How does Central Dispatch help brokers get better carrier rates?
The platform creates competition, which directly benefits your final rate. This is how the mechanism works:
When we post a load, multiple carriers see it and can express interest. This pool of licensed transporters helps us secure a fair, market-driven price.
We leverage the platform's price check tools, often referred to as a Central Dispatch review, which show us the going rate for similar routes. This market intelligence ensures the rate we offer the carrier is both attractive to them and cost-effective for you.
Are there tools or integrations available for brokers?
Yes, the platform offers significant technological advantages, which enhance our service to you.
We utilize integrations, which turn the load board into a complete auto transport dispatch software system.
CRM Integration: We connect Central Dispatch data directly to our customer relationship management (CRM) systems.
API Functionality: This lets us automate load posting and dispatching, reducing human error and improving overall speed.
This level of system integration allows us to process your booking seamlessly, giving you reliable service that a non-licensed individual simply cannot duplicate. When you choose a broker who masters the Central Dispatch platform explained here, you choose a higher level of operational excellence.
Central Dispatch for Car Haulers & Carriers
As a car hauler, your truck only makes money when it’s full and moving. Central Dispatch is the single largest platform for achieving that goal, making it an indispensable tool for the majority of carriers in the United States. You’re essentially using the industry's massive digital bulletin board to manage your logistics.
How do car haulers use Central Dispatch to find loads?
You use the system's powerful filters to maximize your auto transport routing. You start by inputting your current location, desired destination, trailer type, and minimum acceptable payout.
The platform instantly populates a list of available car transport loads posted by brokers and shippers. You then contact the poster directly to negotiate and secure the load. This efficiency is crucial for minimizing deadhead miles—driving an empty rig.
What are the pros and cons of using Central Dispatch for car haulers?
The benefits revolve around maximizing your profit and time on the road, but you also need to manage the competitive landscape.
Pros
Cons
Highest Load Volume: Thousands of loads posted daily.
Competitive Bidding: Can drive rates down if you're not careful.
Shipper Rating System: You can vet your transport partners before accepting a job.
Subscription Cost: It’s an ongoing business expense.
Mobile App: Manage pickups, inspections, and eBOLs (electronic Bills of Lading) on the go.
Inexperienced Brokers: You must vet the poster to ensure reliability.
What subscription options are available for car carriers?
To access this crucial auto transport load board, you must pay a monthly subscription fee. Central Dispatch typically offers tiered plans designed to suit different operational scales, from an owner-operator to a larger fleet.
The Core plan grants you full access to the marketplace and basic tools like the price check feature. However, many established carriers opt for the Premium plans, which include AI predictive pricing and advanced API integrations, giving you a competitive edge in securing the best-paying loads. These tools are what separate the veterans from the newcomers on the road.
Central Dispatch Platform Explained
When you’re operating in the auto transport market, Central Dispatch is not just a load board—it’s a comprehensive platform. As a veteran in this space, I can tell you its value lies in how it integrates key features to streamline the entire vehicle shipping process, while putting a premium on safety and transparency.
Features
The platform is designed to minimize your time spent on administrative tasks. You get powerful search filters to quickly pinpoint profitable car haul loads, and modern tools to manage the logistics.
Real-Time Tracking: For transparency, carriers can provide live location and status updates to shippers.
Price Check: This feature uses market data to help you determine an optimal, competitive rate for your vehicle shipment.
Carrier Mobile App: Allows for digital inspections, capturing damage photos, and generating eBOLs (electronic Bills of Lading) on the spot.
User Experience
The platform has continually evolved to offer a better user experience. The latest enhanced dashboards give you a single command center to manage your listings, dispatches, and documents efficiently.
This streamlined interface makes it easier for you to list loads or find available auto transport carriers without getting lost in unnecessary complexity. The goal is simple: connect shippers and haulers as quickly as possible.
Safety and Verified Transactions
In this industry, trust is everything. Central Dispatch places a strong emphasis on safety to protect all parties from fraud, and this is where verified transactions and a robust rating system come into play.
Transactional Ratings: After every completed job, you rate your partner's performance (timeliness, communication, etc.). These honest reviews are permanently attached to their profile, helping you vet your next transport partners confidently.
Carrier Verification: The system requires and displays essential FMCSA details, including USDOT and MC numbers, allowing you to instantly verify credentials and insurance before you dispatch a vehicle. To further increase account security, I recommend setting up multi-factor authentication immediately
You can access Central Dispatch from their website or the dedicated carrier app.
How Much Does It Cost to Use Central Dispatch?
The true cost of using Central Dispatch goes beyond the initial monthly subscription—it’s an investment in the largest and most established marketplace for vehicle shipping. You’re paying for unparalleled load board access, which in this industry is currency. The pricing structure is primarily based on your user type and the depth of features you require.
Membership and Subscription Costs
Central Dispatch operates on a clear, tiered monthly subscription model, tailored for specific roles within the auto transport supply chain. You can expect rates within these estimated ranges:
User Type
Monthly Fee
Features
Broker
$115–$130
Unlimited posts, feedback system, carrier network, powerful Price Check tool
Carrier
$95–$115
Load search, notifications, broker communication, real-time tracking
Dealer
Custom
Vehicle listing, private transport options, tailored API access
When you become a member, you'll find that one of the platform's advantages is its straightforward pricing. There are generally no hidden fees or punitive setup charges just to get your account active. Unlike some services, you are paying for the access and tools; the price listed is typically the final monthly fee.
Central Dispatch Pricing Compared to Competitors
While Central Dispatch is the behemoth in terms of sheer volume, you should compare their rates and features to other quality dispatch software options. A higher price often translates to better market penetration and more loads available to bid on.
Platform
Starting Price
Free Trial
Notable Feature
Central Dispatch
$115/mo
No
Largest load board, highest volume of car haul loads
Super Dispatch
$80/mo
Yes
Excellent Mobile app integration for drivers and dispatchers
Ship.Cars
$100/mo
Yes
Digital BOL & inspection, specialized in eBOL functionality
Truckstop
$150/mo
Yes
Multi-industry loads (not solely auto), premium freight tools
As an experienced professional, I advise you to weigh the monthly cost against the time you save and the revenue you gain. Central Dispatch’s higher subscription for a Broker is often justified by the sheer number of transport partners and trucks you can connect with daily, which is crucial for quick vehicle shipping.
Central Dispatch vs. Other Auto Transport Platforms
As a veteran in the auto transport sector, I can tell you that when comparing Central Dispatch to other load boards like Super Dispatch or Ship.Cars, you are essentially weighing volume against technology. Central Dispatch is the undisputed market leader, giving you maximum exposure for your car haul loads, but this dominance comes with a particular set of trade-offs.
When you look at the financials, Central Dispatch's pricing structure is a clean monthly subscription with no typical setup charges or surprise hidden fees to get rolling. The main cost is the competitive monthly rate for access to the largest carrier network. This straightforward approach contrasts with platforms that might involve transaction fees or paywalls for advanced features.
However, you should note the pricing differences compared to competitors. While platforms like Super Dispatch start at a lower monthly rate and offer free trials, Central Dispatch often commands its premium because of its unparalleled load volume. You must decide if the sheer number of available loads is worth the higher, fixed monthly fee.
Central Dispatch Reviews Summary
Verified user reviews place the platform’s average rating around a strong 4.0/5. The common praise is its massive network and reliability—it is the hub where every professional auto broker and car carrier operates. The common complaints, however, focus on the user experience. You'll frequently hear about the outdated user interface (UI) and the feeling that the high monthly fees could be better invested in modernizing the platform.
Who Should (and Shouldn’t) Use Central Dispatch?
For those with a high-volume operation, Central Dispatch is a mandatory tool. It is unequivocally best for Brokers managing multiple loads daily who need guaranteed access to a wide pool of transport partners, and carriers seeking steady, continuous work. If you are a high-volume car shipper, you must be on this platform. It is not ideal for the one-time shipper or very small fleets that only need to find a handful of loads per month, where a more budget-friendly platform or even a specialized transport management system might be a better fit.
The Industry’s Most Common Queries
These are the immediate questions veteran brokers and new carriers in the auto transport market ask when evaluating the platform.
Is Central Dispatch a broker or a load board platform for finding car haul loads?
It is a load board—the largest digital marketplace connecting licensed auto brokers (shippers) and car carriers. It is not a broker itself
What insurance is required for car carriers to use Central Dispatch and book loads?
Carriers must carry at least $1,000,000 in auto liability and a minimum of $100,000 in cargo insurance to be compliant with federal regulations and market standards.
How can new carriers get loads on Central Dispatch when their rating profile is still empty?
You should focus on niche, less-competitive routes or offer a slight discount initially. Consistent professionalism on your first few hauls is critical for building a strong rating.
How often are new vehicle shipping loads posted on the Central Dispatch load board daily?
Loads are posted constantly, with thousands of new listings hitting the platform every single day. This massive, real-time volume is the platform’s major advantage.
Does Central Dispatch offer a mobile app for drivers to manage their shipments and electronic Bill of Lading (eBOL)?
Yes, they have a dedicated Central Dispatch Carrier Hub mobile app for drivers, which enables digital inspections, status updates, and eBOL creation on the go.
What steps can I take to avoid fraud when accepting a load from a new broker on Central Dispatch?
Always verify the broker's MC number, check their recent Transactional Ratings, and never agree to payment outside the standard procedures. If an offer looks too good, proceed with extreme caution.
Is it possible to track the truck’s location and estimated arrival time directly through Central Dispatch?
Yes, many professional carriers use the app's Real-Time Tracking feature, providing immediate location and delivery status updates to the broker/shipper for better communication.
Taking Control of Your Vehicle Transport
The Central Dispatch load board is the backbone of modern auto transport, providing an essential marketplace for licensed car carriers and brokers. It's the go-to platform for finding car haul loads, streamlining communication, and managing your entire workflow from a single, integrated source.
Whether you're an independent owner-operator or a large fleet, mastering this platform is key to securing competitive rates, minimizing empty miles, and running a more profitable operation. Don't leave your logistics to chance—leverage the industry's most powerful tool for efficient vehicle shipping. Get a quote today!
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