The Enclosed Transport Index: Methodology Before Numbers

AMG's quarterly index of enclosed auto transport dispatch data: what gets measured, how a lane is defined, and the sample floor. First edition Q4 2026.

Status: not yet published. The first edition is scheduled for Q4 2026. Nothing here is a result. Every data cell below reads PENDING on purpose. What is published is the methodology behind enclosed auto transport reporting: what gets measured, how a lane is defined, what gets thrown out, and how many loads it takes before a number is allowed on the page.

What is the Enclosed Transport Index and why is AMG publishing it?

The Index is a quarterly report of aggregate dispatch data from AMG Transport Co.'s own enclosed bookings, pulled from Super Dispatch e-BOL records. AMG is publishing it because enclosed pricing and timing get discussed almost entirely in unsourced ranges, including AMG's own $400 to $800 premium over open as of August 2026. Three measures are planned: median days from load posting to carrier assignment by lane, the realized enclosed premium over open transport by distance band in US dollars, and the damage-claim rate by trailer type. As of August 2026 no edition exists and no cell has been computed. Fixing the counting rules in public before any result exists means they cannot be adjusted afterward to suit a number. The limit, stated up front: this is one broker's book, not an industry benchmark. A lane AMG rarely runs will never appear in it.

What will the Index actually measure?

Three metrics, each computed on completed loads only, and each printed with the load count standing behind it. Days-to-assignment counts calendar days from the moment a load is posted to a carrier network to the moment a carrier is confirmed and the customer approves the pickup date, the same event that triggers AMG Transport Co.'s deposit, $207.70 as of August 2026. Enclosed premium is the difference in US dollars between the booked enclosed rate and the open rate quoted on the same vehicle, same lane, same week. Damage-claim rate is claims filed as a share of completed loads, split enclosed versus open. As of August 2026 all three are unpublished. What the Index deliberately will not measure: quotes that never became bookings. Quote-based figures are the easiest number in this industry to flatter, because the broker chooses which quotes count.

How does the Index define a lane?

A lane is an ordered pair of metropolitan areas, not a pair of ZIP codes and not a pair of states. Origin and destination each roll up to their Core Based Statistical Area, so Pasadena to Plano reports as Los Angeles to Dallas-Fort Worth. Direction is never merged: Los Angeles to Dallas and Dallas to Los Angeles are two lanes, because carrier supply is not symmetric. A pickup outside any CBSA is assigned to the nearest one within 75 miles and dropped from the lane tables if none is that close. AMG Transport Co. serves the lower 48 only, so no lane will include Alaska or Hawaii, which require ocean freight. The limitation is real: rolling up to metros hides rural cost. A ranch two hours off the interstate does not price like the metro it gets filed under.

How are outliers handled and how many loads does it take to publish a figure?

Outliers get trimmed and disclosed, never deleted quietly. The publication floor is 30 completed loads per cell over the trailing twelve months, and below that AMG Transport Co. prints PENDING instead of merging unrelated lanes to manufacture a sample. Days-to-assignment is reported as a median rather than a mean, so a single slow exotic booking cannot drag a lane, with the 80th percentile printed beside it. Loads cancelled before dispatch leave the sample, since a cancelled load has no outcome to measure and the deposit stays refundable until dispatch. A load reposted at a higher rate counts once, timed from the original posting. Customer-caused delay, such as a shipper unreachable inside the 72-hour pickup window current as of August 2026, is flagged rather than dropped. As of August 2026 no cell has been evaluated. Three things invalidate a figure and trigger a correction note: an export error, a lane definition that changed between editions, or one customer holding more than a quarter of a cell.

What will AMG never publish in the Index?

Anything that identifies a customer or a carrier. No names, no VINs, no addresses, no year-make-model combination rare enough to name one car, and no cell small enough to reverse-engineer a single shipment, which is the second reason for the 30-load floor beyond statistical noise. Carriers are never ranked, scored or named, whether the outcome was good or bad. AMG Transport Co. is a broker, and a public carrier leaderboard would turn dispatch into a popularity contest while discouraging the honest damage reporting a claim rate depends on. Individual claim narratives stay private. As of August 2026 nothing has been published at all. The one narrow exception: aggregate counts of distinct carriers used per lane may appear, since a count reveals nothing about who they are. To vet a specific carrier yourself, see how to verify a carrier.

When does the first edition come out and how often will it update?

The first edition is scheduled for Q4 2026, and this page stays a draft until it lands. After that the Index updates quarterly, roughly four to six weeks after each quarter closes, computed on a trailing twelve-month window so one slow quarter cannot swing a lane. Prior editions stay online at their own URLs, each carrying the date it was generated and the exact window it covers. AMG Transport Co. does not silently overwrite a number, and corrections are noted rather than erased. A quarter where nothing clears the floor still gets published, saying so. The limit that matters to you: a quarterly cadence is too slow to guide a shipment you are booking this week. For that, read enclosed transport cost, enclosed vs open transport, and insurance and coverage.

How do I get a number for my own lane before the Index publishes?

Call AMG Transport Co. at (800) 494-5059 and ask. A live quote on your actual lane beats any aggregate, because it prices your vehicle, your two ZIP codes and your date window rather than a metro-to-metro average that flattens all three. Five details get you a real number on that call: year, make and model; whether the car runs, rolls, brakes and steers; measured ground clearance at the lowest fixed point if it sits low; both ZIP codes rather than city names, since a rural address changes enclosed availability; and the earliest date you can release the vehicle. As of August 2026, quotes hold for 30 days and the price you approve is the price you pay — if carrier availability or corrected shipment details change the workable amount, you see the new option and approve it before anything is charged. There is no deposit until a carrier is confirmed and you approve the pickup date, and that deposit, $207.70 as of August 2026, stays refundable until dispatch. Payment is by card through Stripe. AMG never asks for wire, Zelle or gift cards, and you never pay the driver directly.