Drayage

Drayage is the transport of goods over short distances, typically by truck between a port or rail terminal and a nearby warehouse, distribution center or rail ramp. It connects the ocean or rail leg of an intermodal move to the rest of the supply chain.

On an import, drayage is the truck that collects your container from the container yard once it is released, on a chassis, and later returns the empty. Many ports require a pickup appointment, so booking early keeps the container within its free time and avoids demurrage while it sits at the terminal and detention until the empty is back.

Types of drayage

• Import (port to door): the loaded container goes from the terminal to your warehouse, and the empty goes back
• Export (door to port): an empty is collected, loaded at the shipper and returned full to the terminal before the cargo cut-off
• Intermodal (rail ramp) drayage: to or from an inland rail ramp or inland port, after or before the rail leg
• Pre-pull and shuttle moves: the container goes to the trucker's yard first, when the terminal is congested or the last free day is near; see pre-pull
• Transload drayage: to a warehouse near the port where the cargo is transloaded into domestic trailers

What drives the cost of a drayage move

• Distance, tolls and fuel
• Time: driver waiting time, chassis days, and demurrage and detention once free time ends
• Port fees charged per loaded container at some ports
• Weight: an overweight container can need a tri-axle chassis, a permit or a different route
• Hazardous materials, reefers that need a genset, and out-of-gauge cargo

Who runs a drayage move

The truck is run by a motor carrier: a trucking company registered to carry freight, whose drivers hold the port credentials the terminal requires. Many importers book drayage through a forwarder or a property broker instead of calling truckers themselves. Federal rules define a broker as a person who, for compensation, arranges or offers to arrange the transportation of property by an authorized motor carrier (49 CFR 371.2).

Airlift arranges drayage as a non-asset, FMCSA-licensed property broker: it owns no trucks or chassis and books each move with a contracted motor carrier. Its container drayage services cover Port Newark and Elizabeth, Los Angeles and Long Beach, Savannah, Houston, Charleston and Norfolk, and explain free time, chassis and empty returns port by port.