ShipCarsNow Survey
Reveals Dealer Demand for Delivery Options
from Internet Auctions
ShipCarsNow conducted the dealer survey
as part of its annual market research into dealer attitudes about auto transport
and online trading of used cars. Out of 169 dealers surveyed, 95 percent of the
respondents indicated that they expect to purchase the same or more vehicles
over the Internet in 2010 vs 2009. Dealers
ranked time and cost savings, followed by ease of use and better inventory selection
as the top reasons for sourcing via the Internet.
Decline in Wholesale Supply Forces Dealers Online
According to industry analysts,
the flow of used cars into the wholesale market (from trade-ins, consumer lease
returns, and fleet/rental cars) is expected to continue to decline until the year
2011 and perhaps longer. With fewer cars to choose from at the local auction, more
dealers are going online and searching farther away to buy cars.
When buying most other items
online, people rarely concern themselves with the shipping of their purchase
other than delivery time and cost. However, shipping is not usually built into
an auto auction purchase. The ShipCarsNow survey suggests that dealers actually
restrict their Internet trading based upon their ability to coordinate
transportation for their purchases. 67 percent of the dealers said they would
buy more vehicles online if auto transport were more integrated with the
purchase transaction.
Solution Is Multimodal Transportation
In the survey, respondents contradicted
a common view of some industry experts - that delivery speed matters more to car
dealers than delivery cost. 64 percent said that if Internet auto auctions
offered shipping, they wanted the option to choose between expedited delivery
or lower cost standard service depending on their business needs. Until now,
the primary transportation service offered by auto auctions has been
exclusively truck, which could be categorized as ‘expedited’.
In response to these shifting
trends in the used car market, ShipCarsNow is working with Internet auto auctions
and used car dealers to offer multimodal auto transportation services that
include both truck and rail options. In the past, a multimodal (truck and rail
combination) delivery option for autos was limited to auto manufacturers and
high-volume shippers. With the
introduction of ShipCarsNow and its vehicle logistics technology, used car
dealers - even those shipping single units - can now take advantage of rail's
economies of scale. Rail transport offers lower cost, higher efficiency and less
damage over longer distances - and is more environmentally-friendly than truck
transportation.
"Why box yourself into a 200
or 500 mile trading radius? says Sarah
Harvey, Director of Business Development for ShipCarsNow. “We make it easy and
affordable to ship cars nationwide, so auto dealers can expand their markets
and buy the cars they need, wherever they can get the best deal. Location
should be irrelevant."
ShipCarsNow will be on hand to
meet with customers and share survey results at the National Automobile Dealers
Association Conference February 13-15, 2010 in
About
ShipCarsNow – ShipCarsNow is a subsidiary of Insight Network
Logistics and part of the Union Pacific Corporation. Formed in 2006,
ShipCarsNow was created to provide the used car industry with affordable
multimodal auto shipping services. The company brings nationwide transportation
resources and technology to the auto remarketing industry as a natural
extension of Insight’s logistics and transportation operations for new car
distribution. ShipCarsNow.com provides used car shippers (e.g. auto
manufacturers, auto auctions, dealers, finance companies, fleet operators,
etc.) with a fast and easy way to book affordable vehicle transportation
online.
For more information, visit http://www.ShipCarsNow.com
or contact ShipCarsNow Toll Free (866) 207-3360.
# # #
Contact:
Jeff
Grandstaff, General Manager ShipCarsNow
(248) 340-8524, jjgrandstaff@shipcarsnow.com
www.shipcarsnow.com