Drayage shipping is defined by the transportation of containers not attached to a chassis. The container is transported via truck and usually arrives at a port or railyard. Drayage containers are crane lifted onto a chassis which are then attached to trucks and delivered. Drayage delivery is typically made within 100 miles of the port/railyard to maintain savings.
Pick up and drop off is very big in drayage. Most drayage shipments are typically delivered within 100 miles of the location that the container originally picked up from. Another important piece of information is the last free day. The last free day is the last day available to pick up the container from the port or yard before fees are applied. The last free day is typically 48 hours after notification that the shipment has arrived. However, this time can vary so it is important to be in communication with your drayage broker.
If you are new to shipping drayage then it is important to know and expect the additional accessorial and fees. Most importantly, you should know the last free day which will all have an impact on your budget. Additionally, have a tight schedule planned out to avoid additional fees, this is especially true if you are doing a live load. There is typically a buffer for running over the clock a little bit but after that fees will start to hit. Lastly, when using a container hauling service, you can never send too much information to the company you are working with. There are a lot of moving parts with drayage, so it is good for everyone to be on the same page.