Drayage

What it means

The FHWA freight glossary defines drayage as transporting rail or ocean freight by truck to an intermediate or final destination, and notes that it is typically a charge for picking up or delivering goods over short distances, for example from a marine terminal to a warehouse.^[1] DAT, a freight marketplace, describes it as short-distance transport between a port, rail yard or warehouse and another location in the same general region, usually within a single metropolitan area.^[3]

Drayage is usually the first or last truck leg of an intermodal or import move. The container travels intact on a chassis; unloading it is a separate step done at the destination warehouse or a transload dock.

Types of drayage service

DAT groups drayage service into four kinds:^[3]

• Intermodal drayage. Moves containers between modes, such as from a ship or train to a truck.
• Intra-carrier drayage. Moves freight between facilities run by the same carrier.
• Pier drayage. Takes cargo from a port to a nearby warehouse, distribution center or rail terminal.
• Shuttle drayage. Short moves within a terminal, port complex or nearby storage yard, often to reposition or temporarily park containers.

Import pickups, export deliveries, empty returns and moves between a terminal and a container yard all fall under these headings.

How drayage works

DAT outlines the process in five steps: the carrier takes the order and dispatches a driver with a chassis; documents are checked; the container is loaded onto the chassis at the terminal; the truck delivers it to a warehouse, distribution center, rail terminal or long-haul handoff; and the carrier hands off with final paperwork and status updates.^[3]

At the Port of New York and New Jersey, the Port Authority's truckers guidebook lists what the trucker needs before reaching a terminal gate:^[2]

• Appointment at terminals that require one.
• Driver credentials: a valid driver's license, a TWIC (required by federal law for drivers entering secure maritime areas) and a SeaLink card.
• Truck registration: a valid RFID tag on the driver's side mirror, with the truck registered in the Drayage Truck Registry.
• Company standing: proof of UIIA registration and of valid insurance and credit with the steamship lines being hauled for.
• Import paperwork: a freight release, the container number and the bill of lading number.

If the truck is not clear at entry, the guidebook says the driver receives a void-out ticket giving the reason.^[2] Holds, missing releases and expiring free time are common reasons a pickup slips; see container holds explained.

What drayage invoices include

Beyond the base move, drayage invoices often carry accessorials. A warehouse-operator guide to drayage fees lists, among others:^[4]

• [Chassis split](term:chassis-split). The chassis is at a different location from the container, so the carrier has to fetch it first.
• [Pre-pull](term:pre-pull). The container is pulled from the port but not delivered the same day, so it is stored in the carrier's yard.
• Driver waiting time. Loading or unloading delays the driver past the allowed time, usually an hour or two.
• Drop fee. The trucker leaves the container at the warehouse and returns for it later instead of waiting for a live unload.
• Fuel surcharge, tolls and overweight permits. Passed through to the shipper.

Terminal and ocean carrier charges such as demurrage and per diem or detention run on their own clocks after free time ends.^[4] See chassis split, pre-pull and street turn fees.

Why it matters

Drayage timing decides whether a container clears free time or starts collecting demurrage and detention, so the trucker and the receiving dock need the same plan. RapidShips runs no trucks: it receives containers at its East Brunswick, NJ dock from the importer's chosen drayage carrier, unloads or transloads them, and releases the empty for return.

Example

Illustrative only: an import container is released at an Elizabeth terminal. The importer's drayage carrier books a terminal appointment, and a driver with a TWIC and SeaLink card arrives in a registered truck, picks the container up on a chassis and delivers it to a warehouse in central New Jersey. The warehouse unloads it, and the same carrier returns the empty container and chassis to the location the ocean carrier designates.

Frequently asked questions