Every answer below is written to stand on its own: the short version first, then a link to the page that covers the topic in full. The questions are grouped by problem. For general freight questions, see freight answers; for definitions, the freight glossary. If a truck is already in trouble, use the Freight Emergency assessment or call the dock at 800-376-2808.
Shifted & damaged loads
What should I do when freight shifts inside my trailer?
Pull over somewhere safe and legal, switch on the flashers and keep the trailer doors shut if pallets could be resting against them. Photograph the outside of the trailer, the seal and anything visible, then call dispatch before moving again. If only a strap slipped and the pallets still stand square, resecuring may be enough; leaning or collapsed stacks need to be rebuilt at a rework dock. Full guide: what to do when a load shifts in the trailer
Is it safe to keep driving with a shifted load?
Usually not. If the trailer pulls to one side, leans harder in turns or you hear freight moving, the weight has moved enough to change how the rig handles, and every extra mile raises the risk of a rollover or a door giving way. Stop, check from outside the trailer and plan a short, direct route to a dock that can restack it. Full guide: signs a shifted load is unsafe to drive
How fast can you rework a shifted load?
There is no fixed turnaround. The job's length comes down to the number of pallets that moved, whether a simple restack will do or the freight must go onto new pallets, and whether a re-weigh follows. Emergency rework is on call 24/7 and the dock runs 24/7 by appointment, so call with the pallet count and photos and the dock will confirm when it can start. Full guide: how a shifted-load restack is carried out
Freight arrived damaged. How do I protect a claim?
Write the damage on the delivery receipt before signing, photograph the freight, packaging and trailer before anything moves, and keep the damaged goods and cartons set aside. A receipt notation is useful evidence but is not the claim itself: the carrier still needs a written claim for a specific amount, filed within the period set in your bill of lading or contract. Full guide: documenting freight damage for a carrier claim
Freight rework & restacking
Where can a trucker get a load reworked in New Jersey?
RapidShips reworks loads at its own dock at 25A Cotters Lane, East Brunswick, NJ 08816, reached from the Port Newark–Elizabeth terminals via the New Jersey Turnpike. The crew restacks, rebuilds, rewraps, re-bands, re-weighs, relabels and sorts freight. Dock operations run 24/7 by appointment and emergency rework is on call 24/7; call 800-376-2808 before routing the truck. Full guide: freight rework and restacking services in NJ
How does emergency freight rework work?
You call the dock line at any hour, say what failed, and send photos, the pallet count and any rejection or inspection note. The dock confirms a door and an arrival window, the truck backs in, and the crew corrects the specific problem, photographs the work and reloads. Emergency rework is on call 24/7, and after-hours work is quoted when you call. Full guide: emergency and overnight rework
What happens during freight restacking?
Freight restacking takes down pallets that leaned, shifted or collapsed and builds them back square and stable. The load is photographed and counted, unstable pallets come off in a controlled way, sound cartons are restacked with the heavy ones low, damaged cartons are held separately until the owner says what to do with them, and each pallet is rewrapped before the trailer is reloaded and braced. Full guide: step-by-step pallet restack and rebuild
Rejected freight & containers
What happens when a warehouse rejects freight?
The freight stays on the truck and remains the shipper's property, so the driver gets the refusal reason written on the delivery receipt, photographs the load and calls dispatch before leaving. The shipper, or a broker acting for it, then picks one of four outcomes: fix the freight and deliver it again, keep it until a new slot opens, send it back to origin, or salvage it. Full guide: what to do when a receiver rejects freight
What should a driver do after missing a delivery appointment?
Phone the receiver or broker the moment you know you will be late; a receiver warned in advance can sometimes still fit the truck in. Ask for the next open slot and its check-in rules, confirm any redelivery or layover charges with the carrier, and decide whether the loaded trailer waits or the pallets go into short-term storage so the equipment can move. Full guide: next steps after a missed delivery appointment
Do you take loads that a receiver refused?
Yes. Freight refused at a receiver's dock can be brought to the East Brunswick facility to be corrected, for example restacked, rebuilt on new pallets, relabeled or sorted, or held in short-term storage until a new appointment. Share why the load was refused, what was written on the receipt and your photos, and get written approval from whoever controls the freight before work begins. Full guide: getting refused freight reworked in New Jersey
Do you handle containers rejected at the port?
Yes. A container turned away by a Port Newark, Elizabeth or Port Liberty Bayonne terminal, or by the drayage carrier, can be brought to the East Brunswick dock. Common causes are a heavy axle group, a shifted or damaged load, or paperwork that does not match. The load is corrected, re-weighed where weight was the issue, photographed and documented before it goes back out. Full guide: port-rejected container recovery
Overweight loads
How is an overweight load corrected?
Start with what failed. If one axle group is heavy but the gross weight is legal, the weight is rebalanced by sliding the trailer tandems or fifth wheel, or by moving pallets at a dock. If the gross weight is over the limit, some freight has to come off onto a second truck. In both cases a fresh weight is taken before the truck returns to the road. Full guide: overweight load correction and axle fixes
What is considered an overweight container?
On the road, a container counts as overweight when the truck hauling it exceeds a legal limit: the gross vehicle limit or the limit for a single axle, tandem or axle group. That is separate from the SOLAS verified gross mass declared for the ship, so a container whose declared VGM is accurate may still fail a highway scale when its cargo sits unevenly. Full guide: SOLAS VGM versus U.S. road weight limits
Containers, transloading & devanning
Where can a container be transloaded near Port Newark?
RapidShips transloads ocean containers at its 3-door dock in East Brunswick, NJ, reached from the Port Newark–Elizabeth terminals and Port Liberty Bayonne via the New Jersey Turnpike. Floor-loaded or palletized freight comes out of the container, is palletized and wrapped where needed, and goes onto 53-foot trailers or box trucks. Dock operations run 24/7 by appointment, and each job is quoted from the packing list. Full guide: container-to-trailer transloading in NJ
Can you unload a container without transloading it?
Yes. Unloading, or devanning, can be its own job: palletized loads come off pallet by pallet, while floor-loaded cartons are unloaded by hand, built onto pallets and wrapped. The freight is then stored, cross-docked or loaded out later, and the empty container can go back to the carrier. Every unload comes with photos and a written record. Full guide: container unloading and devanning in East Brunswick
What should I do if a container seal is broken?
Leave the seal in place and keep the doors closed. Record the container number and the seal numbers on the box and on the paperwork, photograph the seal and both doors, and note the exception on the delivery receipt. Then alert the drayage carrier, the ocean line or your forwarder, and your customs broker, and break the seal only after everyone agrees, with a witness watching. Full guide: broken or mismatched container seal procedure
Cross-docking & storage
Cross-docking vs transloading: which service do I need?
Choose transloading when freight has to change equipment type, typically from a marine container onto a 53-foot domestic van. Choose cross-docking when freight moves from an inbound truck to an outbound truck with little or no time on the floor. If it has to wait days for its next move, that is warehousing. One import shipment can involve all three. Full guide: cross-docking vs. transloading vs. warehousing compared
Is a truck-to-truck transfer the same as cross-docking?
It is the simplest form of it. A truck-to-truck transfer, sometimes called cross-loading, moves freight from one trailer straight into another at a dock without storing it, for example a carrier hand-off, a consolidation of partial loads or a move into a replacement trailer. Arrange the outbound trailer before the inbound one arrives; the dock does not supply trucks or trailers. Full guide: truck-to-truck transfers at a NJ cross dock
Do you offer short-term and long-term storage?
Short-term and overflow storage, yes. Freight can wait at the East Brunswick warehouse when delivery plans slip, for example a receiver without space or a late outbound carrier, and a container can be unloaded so the empty goes back while the pallets wait. For longer storage, call the operations desk to discuss it. Storage is quoted by pallet count, length of stay and handling. Full guide: warehouse and overflow storage in East Brunswick
How is stored inventory tracked?
Each pallet is checked, scanned and recorded when it is received, then placed according to its shipment type and outbound priority so it can be found and picked accurately when the order is ready. If you need particular counts, reports or label data for your freight, raise it when you book so the dock can confirm it before the freight arrives. Full guide: how stored freight is received and recorded
Port charges & customs
I missed the last free day. What happens now?
Charges start. For a loaded import still at the terminal, demurrage builds daily at the tariff rate of the carrier or terminal until the box leaves the gate, while detention or per diem runs on its own clock until the empty is returned. Get the release and pickup moving, check that any invoice shows the free time and rates, and dispute errors promptly. Full guide: demurrage vs. detention and how to stop each clock
Why is my container on hold at the port?
A hold can come from Customs, from the ocean carrier, for example over unpaid charges or missing documents, or from the terminal. A CBP hold means Customs has selected the shipment for an exam, anything from an X-ray scan to an intensive exam, and only CBP can release it. Your customs broker is the one who works with CBP, and no warehouse can speed up a release. Full answer: the types of container holds; for exams, CBP exam holds explained
What happens if my cargo goes to general order?
General order, or GO, is the status CBP assigns to imported cargo whose entry was not filed within the allowed time. Once the allowed time at the place of unlading runs out, a bonded general order warehouse moves and stores the cargo at the consignee's expense, and cargo left unclaimed long enough can be sold. Only CBP releases it, after a proper entry is filed and charges are paid. Full guide: the general order (GO) rule for unentered cargo
Can short-term storage cut demurrage and detention?
It can. Pulling a released container out of the terminal stops demurrage, and unloading it so the empty goes back stops detention as well. It pays off when the consignee can't receive for several days and the extra drayage, handling, storage days and final delivery cost less than the charges you would otherwise run up. A warehouse cannot waive the carrier's charges. Full guide: when short-term storage beats paying demurrage
Working with RapidShips
Are you truly operational 24/7?
Yes, with one distinction. Dock operations run 24/7 by appointment, including nights and weekends, and emergency rework is on call around the clock at 800-376-2808. The office handles paperwork, billing and routine questions Monday to Friday, 7 AM to 7 PM. Whatever the hour, phone ahead so a door is confirmed before the truck rolls. Full guide: dock, emergency and office hours
Is there an after-hours fee?
After-hours work is quoted when you call. The price of any job, at night, on a weekend or during the day, depends on the work itself: pallet or carton count, floor-loaded or palletized freight, the rework needed, materials and any storage time. Give the dock those details and your arrival window, and confirm the quote before you dispatch the truck. Full guide: booking night and weekend dock work
Do I need an appointment, and what should I send first?
Yes. The call is the appointment: phone 800-376-2808 or use the contact form, and the dock confirms a door before the truck arrives. Have ready the exact rejection or failure reason, the equipment type, the pallet or piece count, any special handling, where the truck is and when it can arrive, and the BOL, scale ticket or rejection notice with photos. For planned work, the Freight Scope Builder collects the same details. Full guide: how a job runs from the first call to release
Are you a freight broker or a customs broker?
Neither. RapidShips LLC is an asset-backed warehouse, cross-dock and freight rework facility with its own 3-door dock in East Brunswick, NJ, and the physical work is done there by its own crew. It does not act as a freight broker or customs broker and is not a bonded or general order warehouse, so customs entries and holds go through your customs broker. Full guide: about RapidShips' dock operation
Do you handle hazmat or refrigerated freight?
No. RapidShips does not handle hazardous materials (hazmat) or temperature-controlled (reefer) freight. The dock works dry, non-hazardous freight: cross-docking, transloading, container unloading, freight rework, shifted and overweight load correction, and short-term storage. Hazmat needs a facility set up under the federal hazardous materials regulations (49 CFR parts 171 to 180), and refrigerated loads need cold storage. Full guide: every service RapidShips offers
Still have a question?
Call the dock at 800-376-2808 for anything urgent, or send the load details and photos for planned work. RapidShips is at 25A Cotters Lane, East Brunswick, NJ 08816. Dock operations run 24/7 by appointment, emergency rework is on call 24/7, and the office is open 7 AM to 7 PM, Monday to Friday.