Drayage Services

What drayage services include

Drayage services move ocean shipping containers over short distances: out of a marine terminal to a warehouse, distribution center, container freight station or transload facility, and back to the terminal or a depot with the empty. For most imports it is the first truck move on U.S. soil, and for most exports it is the last.

The driving is usually the smallest part of the job. A drayage carrier has to confirm the container is released, get a terminal appointment, supply a chassis, deliver within the receiver's window and return the empty before the steamship line's free days run out. Every one of those steps has its own clock and its own charge if it slips.

This page explains how port drayage works in any U.S. gateway, how it is priced, and how to judge drayage companies before you hand them a container. For our local operations, see drayage at the Port of Long Beach and drayage at the Port of Los Angeles. For a plain-language primer, start with what is drayage.

Types of drayage moves

Drayage covers several distinct container moves. Naming the right one on a quote request avoids surprises on the invoice.

How port drayage services work, step by step

A clean import move follows the same sequence at nearly every container port.

1. 01
   Release check

   The container must be discharged and free of customs, steamship line (freight) and terminal holds. A good carrier checks this before dispatch, because a truck sent to an unreleased container is a wasted trip you may still pay for.

2. 02
   Terminal appointment

   Most large terminals require a truck appointment for import pickups. Appointment supply can be tight during vessel surges, so the carrier books as soon as the container shows available.

3. 03
   Chassis

   Every container rides on a chassis. The carrier either supplies its own or pulls one from a chassis pool or provider, which adds a daily charge and sometimes a separate trip to find equipment.

4. 04
   Pickup and gate-out

   The driver presents the container number and pickup reference, the terminal mounts the box on the chassis, and the truck clears the out-gate. Interchange paperwork records the container's condition at this point.

5. 05
   Delivery

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

6. 06
   Empty return

   The empty goes back to the terminal or depot the steamship line designates. The per diem (detention) clock stops only when the empty is accepted at that location.

How drayage services are priced

A drayage quote has a base rate plus a set of line items that depend on what actually happens during the move. These are the components to look for:

A worked example of drayage cost

Example only, with round hypothetical numbers: a 40' import is quoted at a base rate of $500 plus a 30% fuel surcharge, so $650 before accessorials. The receiver asks for a drop, keeps the container three days on the carrier's chassis at $40 a day, and the carrier adds a pass-through port fee of $20. The move now costs $790.

Now suppose the receiver could not take delivery until two days after the last free day. The terminal charges demurrage for two days at a hypothetical $150 a day, adding $300. A pre-pull to the carrier's yard before the last free day, at a hypothetical $150 for the extra move and $50 a day for two days of storage, would have cost $250 and kept the container off the terminal.

The lesson is that drayage rates are rarely the biggest number. Free time, chassis days and the timing of the empty return decide most of the final bill, which is why our guides to demurrage and detention and the last free day matter as much as the rate sheet.

Live unload or drop: which delivery fits

The delivery type changes both the price and the risk. Use this as a starting point.

Rules that shape every drayage move

Federal rules and industry agreements set the limits drayage companies work within. These are the ones shippers most often run into:

• Hours of service. A property-carrying driver may drive up to 11 hours within a 14-hour window after 10 consecutive hours off duty, and needs a 30-minute break after 8 hours of driving unless a short-haul exception applies (49 CFR 395.3). Long terminal waits eat into the same clock.
• Weight limits. On the Interstate system, gross vehicle weight is capped at 80,000 pounds, with 20,000 pounds on a single axle and 34,000 pounds on a tandem (23 CFR 658.17). Heavy containers often need a triaxle chassis to spread the load legally.
• Equipment interchange. Most motor carriers that pull steamship line containers sign the Uniform Intermodal Interchange and Facilities Access Agreement (UIIA), which sets terms for equipment use and allows binding arbitration of per diem disputes.
• Demurrage and detention billing. Since May 28, 2024, the Federal Maritime Commission's rule at 46 CFR 541 requires ocean carriers and marine terminal operators to issue demurrage and detention invoices within 30 days and include specific information, or the billed party does not have to pay.
• Port programs. Many ports collect per-container fees tied to clean-truck or traffic programs. At the San Pedro Bay ports, the Clean Truck Fund rate started at $10 per TEU in April 2022, and the PierPass Traffic Mitigation Fee was $38.78 per TEU from August 2025.

What to send for a drayage quote

A complete request gets an accurate all-in number on the first pass. Include:

• Container number(s) and master or house bill of lading
• Port and terminal, if known, and the vessel's estimated arrival
• Container size and type (20', 40', 40' high cube or 45'; dry, reefer, hazmat, open-top or flat-rack) and gross weight, plus the commodity
• Delivery address, receiving hours and whether you want a live unload or a drop
• Customs status: cleared, or moving in-bond to a bonded facility
• The last free day and the steamship line's free days for the empty, if you have them
• Any next step after delivery, such as storage, unloading or transloading

How to choose among drayage companies

Rates are easy to compare. These questions separate carriers that protect your free time from carriers that simply move boxes:

• Do they check holds and availability before dispatch? Dry runs and missed appointments are usually avoidable.
• Can they get into the terminal? Federal rules at 33 CFR 101.514 require a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) for unescorted access to secure areas of regulated port facilities, and some ports add their own truck rules; at Long Beach and Los Angeles every truck entering a marine terminal must be on the Port Drayage Truck Registry.
• Do they run their own chassis? Carriers that depend entirely on pool chassis can lose a day hunting equipment during busy weeks.
• Can they handle heavy containers? Ask whether they have triaxle chassis and how they confirm weight before pickup.
• What happens if your dock is not ready? A carrier with its own yard, warehouse or transloading operation gives you options besides paying demurrage.
• Can they move in-bond freight? Bonded drayage requires bonded carrier authority.
• How do they report status? You need pickup, delivery and empty-return confirmations without chasing them.
• Will they quote all-in? A low base rate with vague accessorials often ends up costing more.

Common drayage mistakes and how to avoid them

• Booking the truck after the vessel arrives. Appointment slots go quickly in surge weeks. Line up the carrier when the vessel departs the origin port.
• Treating the last free day as the pickup day. If the only appointment is on the LFD and it falls through, demurrage starts the next morning. Aim to pick up a day or two earlier.
• Forgetting the empty. Demurrage stops at gate-out, but per diem keeps running until the empty is returned. Tell the carrier the moment a dropped container is empty.
• Understating weight. An overweight container on the wrong chassis can be refused or fined. Share the true gross weight up front.
• Ignoring receiving hours. A drop or live unload booked outside your dock hours turns into waiting time or a redelivery charge.
• Leaving customs to the last minute. Have your customs broker file entry early, or plan an in-bond move. See our guide to in-bond shipments.

Where we provide drayage services

National Freight & Drayage is based in Long Beach, California, and runs drayage at the San Pedro Bay ports on our own 20' and 40' chassis, plus triaxle chassis for heavier containers. Our drivers carry TWIC cards and our trucks are registered for port terminal access. Our local pages cover Port of Long Beach drayage and Port of Los Angeles drayage in detail.

We pull 20', 40', 40' high cube and 45' containers, refrigerated (reefer) containers, hazmat containers (hazard classes confirmed per shipment at quote time), and open-top, flat-rack and overweight containers, with permits arranged when a move requires them. Reefers are delivered direct, since our yard has no reefer plug-ins for storage or pre-pulls.

Because our warehousing and container handling are also in Long Beach, a container does not have to go straight to its final destination. It can go into container storage, container unloading, our container freight station or bonded warehousing, then continue by full truckload or LTL anywhere in the U.S., or across the border to Canada and Mexico. When a long inland move suits rail better than truck, we can arrange rail or intermodal service through partners.

Frequently asked questions