Car Carrier Market Report 2025

This Car Carrier market report provides a comprehensive analysis of the market’s characteristics, size, and growth, including segmentation, regional and country-level breakdowns, competitive landscape, market shares, trends, and strategies. It also tracks historical and forecasted market growth across various geographies.

The car carrier market size has grown strongly in recent years. It will grow from $12.07 billion in 2024 to $12.87 billion in 2025 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.7%. The growth in the historic period can be attributed to increasing demand for last mile delivery service, increasing demand for personal transportation, growing e-commerce platforms, increasing population and demand for automotive vehicles, expanding international trade in the automotive sector.

The car carrier market size is expected to see strong growth in the next few years. It will grow to $16.43 billion in 2029 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.3%. The growth in the forecast period can be attributed to growing preference for fuel-efficient car carriers, rising automotive industry, increase in global trading activities, shifting trade patterns, growing need for environmentally friendly logistics solutions. Major trends in the forecast period include demand for eco-friendly and fuel-efficient transport solutions, adoption of advanced technologies, development and testing of autonomous car carriers, growing demand for customized and flexible transport solutions, rise of digital platforms.

The car carrier market is poised for growth driven by the expanding automotive industry. This sector encompasses the manufacturing, sales, and maintenance of motor vehicles such as cars, trucks, and motorcycles. Growth in the automotive industry is fueled by factors such as economic development, environmental advantages, consumer benefits, global competitiveness, and infrastructure enhancements. Car carriers play a crucial role in transporting new vehicles from manufacturers to dealerships, transferring inventory between locations, and facilitating long-distance moves for individuals and businesses. For example, Statistics Canada reported in June 2024 that Canada saw a 0.3% increase in registered road motor vehicles in 2022, reaching a total of 26.3 million vehicles, underscoring the automotive industry's growth driving demand in the car carrier market.

Leading companies in the car carrier market are focusing on advanced technologies such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) battery hybrid car carriers to gain a competitive edge. These specialized vessels are primarily powered by LNG and utilize battery propulsion for additional efficiency. For instance, United European Car Carriers (UECC) launched its LNG battery hybrid car carrier in January 2022. This environmentally friendly vessel complies with stringent emissions regulations and features cutting-edge dual-fuel LNG and battery hybrid propulsion technology. With a capacity of 3,600 vehicles across ten cargo decks, it sets a new standard for sustainable car transport operations.

In December 2023, SFL Corporation acquired Emden, an LNG dual-fuel vehicle carrier constructed by Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI) and China Shipbuilding Trading (CSTC). This acquisition enhances SFL Corporation's fleet with advanced, eco-friendly vessels such as the Emden, highlighting the industry's shift towards sustainable transportation solutions.

Major companies operating in the car carrier market are Miller Industries Inc., Featherlite Trailers, Big Tex Trailers, PJ Trailers, Cottrell Trailer, Kässbohrer Transport Technik GmbH, Load Trail LLC, Bravo Trailers LLC, ATC Trailers, Haulmark Trailers, H&H Trailers, Sundowner Trailers, Aluma, Cargo-Mate Trailers, Jerr-Dan carriers, Boydstun, T and E Auto Haulers, CIMC Vehicles (Group) Co. Ltd., Sure-Trac Trailers, Appalachian Trailers, Wally-Mo Inc.

North America was the largest region in the car carrier market in 2024. Asia-Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing region in the forecast period. The regions covered in the car carrier market report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, Africa. The countries covered in the car carrier market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, South Korea, UK, USA, Canada, Italy, Spain.

A car carrier is a specialized trailer used for transporting multiple vehicles simultaneously from one location to another. These trailers are designed to securely and efficiently transport cars over long distances, serving purposes such as personal moves, dealership transfers, or customer deliveries.

The primary types of car carriers include open-air and enclosed variants. An open-air car carrier utilizes a truck with an open trailer to transport vehicles. These carriers are typically constructed from materials such as steel, aluminum, fiber, and plastic, catering to various vehicle types such as passenger cars, SUVs, and commercial vehicles. End-users of these carriers include automotive sales and service shops, terminals, and other transportation-related entities.

The car carriers market research report is one of a series of new reports that provides car carriers market statistics, including car carriers industry global market size, regional shares, competitors with a car carriers market share, detailed car carriers market segments, market trends and opportunities, and any further data you may need to thrive in the car carriers industry. This car carriers market research report delivers a complete perspective on everything you need, with an in-depth analysis of the current and future scenarios of the industry.

The car carrier market consists of sales of single-level carriers, multi-level carriers, and flatbed carriers. Values in this market are ‘factory gate’ values, that is, the value of goods sold by the manufacturers or creators of the goods, whether to other entities (including downstream manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, and retailers) or directly to end customers. The value of goods in this market includes related services sold by the creators of the goods.

The market value is defined as the revenues that enterprises gain from the sale of goods and/or services within the specified market and geography through sales, grants, or donations in terms of the currency (in USD, unless otherwise specified).

The revenues for a specified geography are consumption values that are revenues generated by organizations in the specified geography within the market, irrespective of where they are produced. It does not include revenues from resales along the supply chain, either further along the supply chain or as part of other products.

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