What Is Drayage?

What is drayage? A plain definition

What is drayage? Drayage is the short-distance trucking of shipping containers between a port or rail terminal and a nearby location, such as a warehouse, distribution center, container freight station or transload facility. It is usually the first land leg of an import and the last land leg of an export.

The word comes from the dray, a low, sideless cart once used to haul heavy loads short distances around docks and rail yards. Today the work is done by tractors pulling ocean containers mounted on chassis, but the drayage meaning has stayed the same: the short connecting move between a long-haul mode and the place cargo is handled.

Drayage matters more than its distance suggests. A container sitting at a terminal or outside it is running up charges by the day, and the drayage carrier is the party that controls when it leaves, where it goes and when the empty comes back.

Types of drayage

The industry uses several names for drayage moves depending on where they start and end.

How port drayage works, step by step

A standard import drayage move follows this sequence at nearly every container port in the United States.

1. 01
   Vessel arrival and discharge

   The container is lifted off the vessel and stacked in the terminal yard. Free time at the terminal typically starts once it is discharged and available.

2. 02
   Release

   The container must be released from three kinds of holds: customs (CBP has not cleared the cargo), freight (ocean freight or charges are unpaid) and terminal (fees or exams outstanding).

3. 03
   Appointment

   Most large terminals require the drayage carrier to book a truck appointment for import pickups. Slots can be scarce when several vessels arrive together.

4. 04
   Pickup on a chassis

   The driver arrives with or collects a chassis, the terminal loads the container onto it, and an interchange record notes the container's condition at the out-gate.

5. 05
   Delivery

   The container is delivered as a live unload, where the driver waits while it is emptied, or a drop, where it is left on the chassis and picked up later.

6. 06
   Empty return

   The empty goes back to the terminal or depot the steamship line designates. Until it is accepted there, the line's per diem clock keeps running.

Who is involved in a drayage move

Drayage sits where several parties' responsibilities meet. Knowing who does what helps when something goes wrong.

Drayage equipment basics

• Containers. Most ocean freight moves in 20' and 40' dry containers. Specialized boxes include high cube containers (taller, at 9'6″), refrigerated (reefer) containers, open tops and flat racks. See our guide to shipping container sizes.
• Chassis. A chassis is the wheeled frame a container sits on for road travel. Chassis come in lengths that match container sizes, and some extend to fit more than one length.
• Triaxle chassis. A chassis with a third axle that spreads the weight of heavy containers so axle weights stay legal.
• Tractor. The truck that pulls the chassis. In California, port drayage trucks must be listed in the ports' drayage truck registry to enter terminals.

Rules that apply to drayage trucking

Drayage is regulated as commercial trucking, with a few rules specific to containers and ports.

• Hours of service. Under 49 CFR 395.3, a property-carrying driver may drive up to 11 hours within a 14-hour window after 10 consecutive hours off duty. Time waiting in terminal lines counts toward the 14 hours.
• Weight limits. Federal limits on the Interstate system are 80,000 pounds gross vehicle weight, 20,000 pounds on a single axle and 34,000 pounds on a tandem axle (23 CFR 658.17). The weight of the tractor, chassis and container all count.
• Equipment interchange. Most drayage carriers sign the Uniform Intermodal Interchange and Facilities Access Agreement (UIIA), the standard contract for using ocean carrier and railroad equipment, administered by the Intermodal Association of North America.
• In-bond moves. Uncleared cargo can only be moved by a bonded carrier under 19 CFR Part 18, and generally must reach its destination port within 30 days. See our guide to in-bond shipments.
• Demurrage and detention billing. The Federal Maritime Commission's rule at 46 CFR 541 sets what demurrage and detention invoices must show and how fast they must be issued.

What drayage is not: drayage vs. trucking

What drives drayage cost

The rate for the truck move is only part of the cost. These factors decide the final number:

• Distance and congestion. Base rates are usually set by delivery zone, and congested routes cost more driver time.
• Fuel. Most carriers add a fuel surcharge indexed to diesel prices.
• Chassis days. Every day a container stays on a chassis adds a charge, which is why drops cost more than live unloads over time.
• Waiting time. Long terminal lines and slow unloads are billed by the hour after a free window.
• Accessorials. Pre-pulls, yard storage, dry runs and overweight handling are added when they happen.
• Port fees. Some ports collect per-container fees, such as the Clean Truck Fund rate and PierPass Traffic Mitigation Fee at Los Angeles and Long Beach.
• Missed free time. Demurrage and per diem often exceed the drayage rate itself. See demurrage and detention and last free day.

Example: where the money goes on one drayage move

Example with round hypothetical numbers: a 40' import is quoted at $500 base plus a 30% fuel surcharge, or $650. The receiver wants a drop and keeps the container on the chassis for three days at $40 a day, adding $120. The truck waits an hour at the terminal beyond the free window, adding $90. The move now costs $860.

If the container had also sat two days past its last free day at a hypothetical $150 a day, demurrage would add $300, and if the empty came back three days after the steamship line's free time ended at a hypothetical $120 a day, per diem would add $360. Those two charges alone would almost match the drayage bill, which is why timing matters more than the base rate.

Drayage terms worth knowing

• Live unload: the driver waits while the container is unloaded.
• Drop and pick: the loaded container is left, and the empty is picked up later.
• Pre-pull: pulling a container before the last free day and holding it in a yard. See container storage.
• Dual transaction: dropping one container and picking up another on the same terminal visit.
• Street turn: reusing an import empty for an export load without returning it to the terminal first, with the line's approval.
• Dry run: a trip that cannot be completed, usually billed as a flat fee.

For more definitions, see our logistics glossary.

Frequently asked questions