Drayage guide

What is drayage?

Drayage is the short truck move of a shipping container, usually between a port or rail ramp and a nearby warehouse, distribution center or rail yard. It is the first or last leg of an intermodal trip: the ship or train covers the long distance, and a drayage truck covers the miles on either end.

The word comes from the dray, a low cart once used to haul heavy loads around docks. Today the cart is a truck pulling a container on a chassis, but the job is the same: get the box off the dock and to where it needs to go.

What is a dray carrier?

A dray carrier is a trucking company that moves containers on these short trips. Its drivers pick up and drop off boxes at marine terminals and rail ramps, which means port access credentials, chassis to carry the container, and terminal appointments for each move.

What does draying mean?

Draying is doing drayage: hauling a container on a short move to or from a port or rail yard. You will also hear a drayage move called a dray, and the truck doing it a dray truck.

Types of drayage

Port drayage From a marine terminal to a warehouse or distribution center nearby, or back with an export.

Rail drayage Between a rail ramp and a customer, for the truck legs of a rail intermodal trip.

Pier drayage From the port to a rail yard close by, so the container can continue by train.

Shuttle drayage A short move to a nearby yard to hold a container when the terminal or the customer is not ready.

Door-to-door drayage Straight from the terminal to the customer’s door, often part of a full door-to-door service.

Expedited drayage A rush move to get a container out fast, for a deadline or before extra charges start.

Drayage terms you will hear

Chassis The wheeled frame a container sits on while a truck pulls it. Carriers pay for each day they use one.

Prepull Pulling a container from the terminal before the delivery date and holding it in the carrier’s yard.

Demurrage A charge for leaving a container at the terminal past its free time.

Detention or per diem A charge for keeping a container outside the terminal past its free time, until the empty is returned.

TWIC The Transportation Worker Identification Credential that drivers need to enter secure areas of US ports.

Empty return Bringing the empty container back to the terminal or depot the shipping line names.

Accessorials Any charge on top of the linehaul and fuel, such as chassis days, prepull, storage or overweight.

Linehaul The base price for driving the container from pickup to delivery, before fuel and extras.

How drayage is priced

A drayage quote adds up the linehaul for the miles, a fuel surcharge, chassis days and the accessorials the move needs. Carriers keep these as rate sheets by lane, distance band or zone, and price each rate request from them.

Drayage rate calculator → Add up linehaul, fuel, chassis and accessorials for one move. Demurrage vs detention → Who pays when a container sits, with a calculator for both. Container dimensions → Sizes, weights and how much cargo fits on the road. Drayage rate management → Keep bands, lanes, zones and fees in one place. Drayage quoting software → Turn each rate request into a priced, sent quote. Drayage software guide → Quoting, TMS, load boards and tracking apps, sorted by job.

Questions

What is drayage in shipping?

Drayage is the short truck move of a shipping container between a port or rail ramp and a nearby warehouse, distribution center or rail yard. It connects the ocean or rail leg of a trip to the customer.

What is a dray carrier?

A trucking company that specializes in drayage. It picks up and delivers containers at ports and rail ramps, using chassis and terminal appointments for each move.

What does draying mean?

Draying means doing drayage, or hauling a container on a short move to or from a port or rail yard.

How much does drayage cost?

It depends on the miles, the fuel surcharge, how many days the container sits on a chassis and which accessorials the move needs. Use the drayage rate calculator to add up one move.

What is the difference between demurrage and detention?

Demurrage is charged when a container stays at the terminal past its free time. Detention, also called per diem, is charged when a container stays out of the terminal past its free time before the empty comes back.

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