The Founding Register is open to enclosed carriers.
View the criteria →Live vertical · Automotive
Enclosed transport for collector, exotic and rare vehicles, through a network where every carrier was verified before the car was named.
A car can be irreplaceable without being expensive, and difficult without being either.
Collector and concours — Vehicles where originality is the value and a single stone chip is a restoration.
Exotic and performance — Low clearance, delicate aero, and a replacement cost that exceeds most cargo policies on the road.
Prototype, race and one-of-one — Often non-running, frequently confidential, and in some cases not permitted to be photographed.
Historic and provenance-critical — Where the documented chain of custody is part of what the car is worth.
Private and discreet transfers — Where who knows the car is moving matters as much as how it moves.
Price is one input. Clearance, securement, confidentiality, timing and irreplaceability are the others.
Private collections — transfers between properties, seasonal relocation, additions from auction.
Marque and dealer movements — client deliveries, inter-dealer transfers, demonstration fleets.
Auctions — consignment in, delivery out, on a calendar that does not move.
Concours and rallies — arrival windows measured in hours, and a car that must arrive presentable.
Museums and institutions — loans, exhibitions, long-term storage transfers.
Restoration — inbound projects, often non-running, sometimes in pieces.
Two separate questions, and conflating them is where this goes wrong elsewhere.
Coverage answers whether the carrier can carry the value. A cargo policy typically pays per occurrence — one event, one limit, however many cars are aboard. Six cars at $150,000 is one $900,000 occurrence.
The deck answers whether the car physically fits and can be secured. Length, width, height, lowest clearance loadable, weight, and how it loads.
A carrier sees a movement only when both are true.
| Posted on the board | Never posted |
|---|---|
| Length, width, height | Year, make, model |
| Lowest clearance | VIN |
| Weight | Exact declared value |
| Handling and modification notes | Owner or keyholder identity |
| Load method required | Exact addresses |
A carrier plans a trailer, not a purchase. The fitment data tells them everything they need. The marque tells them nothing they need, and tells the wrong reader everything they want.
The declared value of everything on the trailer is measured against the carrier's confirmed cargo limit. Loads above it are not sent to the account.
Enclosed only. Not a preference — a condition of membership in this vertical.
Every tractor and every trailer is registered by VIN and reconciled against the insurer's equipment schedule. A unit that is not on the schedule cannot be registered, and a unit that is not registered cannot appear at a pickup.
What is recorded on each trailer, because it decides what it can carry: interior length, width and height · lowest clearance loadable · load method — ramp, tilt or liftgate · liftgate capacity · deck configuration · maximum combined weight · tie-down system · climate control.
The clearance figure is the one that matters most. A three-inch car and a five-inch ramp is not a scheduling problem. It is damage.
Custody at both ends runs through Echelon Custody Verification. At pickup the person releasing the vehicle verifies the driver and the equipment. At delivery the driver verifies the person receiving it. Neither inspection opens until the check clears.
Condition is captured to the same eight-media standard at both ends, so the comparison is like for like. Position runs to the movement and stops at delivery.
A mismatch at either end does not open. It routes to the desk.
Not an assurance. A record of checks performed, each carrying the date it was performed.
The carrier's authority — confirmed against the federal register.
Their coverage tier — confirmed in writing with the insurer.
The truck and trailer — matched to the policy schedule at the curb.
The driver — matched to the assigned file.
The recipient — matched to the named consignee.
The confirmed limit is never disclosed to anyone. A carrier holds a tier, and the tier is what you see. You are not handed a number to evaluate. You are handed a tier that was already evaluated — which is what the network is for.
Echelon Transport Network confirms what was checked. It does not guarantee future conduct or claim payment.
Carriers and brokers — apply for review under the current Automotive criteria. Enclosed equipment and confirmed cargo coverage from $250,000.
Owners, collections, dealers, auctions and advisors — reach a member broker.