Drayage
Drayage is the short-haul trucking that moves a shipping container between a port or rail ramp and a nearby warehouse, yard, or factory, usually within 50 to 100 miles. It is priced per move rather than per mile, and although it covers the shortest distance in an international shipment, it is disproportionately exposed to port congestion, chassis shortages, and terminal appointment systems, which makes it a frequent source of delay and surcharges.
Examples
Per-move pricing: A 28-mile dray from the Port of Oakland to a Hayward warehouse quotes at $385 per move, plus $45 per day of chassis rental and a $75 fuel surcharge. Measured per mile it looks expensive; the rate is pricing in terminal queues and wait time, not distance.
Pre-pull decision: A container discharges Thursday with free time expiring Monday, but the consignee's dock is booked until the following Thursday. The dray carrier pre-pulls the box Friday for $150 plus $60 per night of yard storage ($510 all-in), versus roughly $925 in escalating terminal demurrage.
Driver wait: A terminal turn that should take 90 minutes stretches to 4.5 hours during a vessel surge. After two free hours, waiting bills at $85 per hour, adding about $213 to the move.
Definition
Drayage is the connective tissue of intermodal transportation: the truck leg that pulls a container off the terminal stack and delivers it to a warehouse door, or returns the empty box to the port. An ocean shipment that crosses the Pacific in 15 days can still miss a production slot because the final 30 miles went wrong.
The work depends on assets the shipper rarely controls. A container moves on a chassis, and when chassis pools run short, loaded boxes sit grounded at the terminal. Appointment systems cap how many turns a dray carrier gets per day, and congestion can stretch a one-hour terminal visit to four. Pricing reflects all of this: drayage is quoted per move, not per mile, with add-ons for chassis rental, pre-pulls (pulling a box out early into the carrier's yard), drops, and waiting time.
Drayage timing also sets the meter on the two most common surprise charges in container shipping. Pick the box up too late and it accrues demurrage at the terminal; return the empty too slowly and the line bills detention. A dray carrier with reliable chassis access is cheap insurance against both.
Related Terms
Previous
Next