Title: What Is Drayage & Why Is It Important? URL: /drayage Meta Description: Drayage shipping involves shipping containers from one intermodal point to another. It’s incredibly valuable and important to the supply chain. Focus KW: what is drayage Topic Brief: https://app.usetopic.com/briefs/f47d25c8/overview

What Is Drayage & Why Is It Important?

If you’re new to the transportation industry, you may not be familiar with drayage. However, this strange concept actually plays a huge role in the wider industry, so it’s important to understand.

Here’s what you need to know about drayage, how it works, why it matters, and how you can use it effectively:

What Does the Word Drayage Mean?

The root of the word “dray” refers to horse-drawn carts as horses were used for drayage service centuries ago. These days, drayage involves shipping goods short distances from one intermodal point to another. Intermodal points include ports, train terminals, and trucking yards.

In most cases, drayage involves shipping large containers of goods that may or may not be refrigerated. These containers are just as heavy as they are large and may weigh up to 1,000 tons. This makes drayage a very specialized yet incredibly important aspect of the larger transportation industry.

How Is Drayage Different From Intermodal Shipping?

Drayage is an essential component of intermodal shipping — a type of shipping that uses two or more different modes, for instance, ships, trains, planes, and trucks.

In fact, most shipments are considered intermodal and will require multiple modes of shipping along the way. Drayage makes this possible by transferring shipments from one intermodal point to another.

For example, say that a shipment from a boat arrived at a port off the coast of Virginia. However, the shipment then needs to get on a train to head up to Washington, DC.

This is where drayage comes into play as it can be used to take the shipment from the port to the train terminal.

But the journey doesn’t end there. The shipment then has to go from the train terminal to its final destination in Northern Virginia using a truck.

Drayage also has a role to play here as well. So as you can see, drayage shipping makes intermodal shipping possible by essentially filling in the gaps.

How Does Drayage Service Work?

Drayage works by essentially filling in the gaps in intermodal shipping. Since these gaps tend to vary depending on the mode of shipping and the products being shipped, the drayage service is extremely flexible.

So let’s say that a huge shipment of cars arrives at the Port of Los Angeles, California, from a manufacturing plant across the ocean in China.

These cars can’t just sit at the port. Instead, they need to be transported to manufacturers all throughout California and the Western United States.

For vehicles destined for manufacturers in the Los Angeles area, drayage service involving double-decker open trailers can be used to take these cars from the port to local dealerships.

However, not all these cars will be destined for local dealerships. The Port of Los Angeles is the largest and busiest in the United States and handles an incredible amount of shipments.

As a result, many of these cars will then need to be shipped to dealerships in the surrounding states of Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, etc.

In this case, the vehicles may need to be transported via rail. In order to get to the rain terminal, drayage would be needed.

And when they arrive at the destination rail terminal closest to the dealership, they would need drayage shipping again to deliver them to the dealership, where they can then be sold to consumers.

What Is the History of Drayage Service?

Even though drayage may be new to you, it’s definitely not a new concept. In fact, drayage actually dates all the way back to before the 18th century and predates the industrial era.

Back in the day, drayage service involved horse-drawn carts that were used to carry heavy loads between ocean ports and railroad terminals.

However, this wasn’t a particularly effective method of transportation since the shipments were so heavy, and the horses could only travel so far.

Thankfully, trucks began to take over the drayage scene starting in the 1910s — bringing us up to how drayage works today.

At the same time, drayage today isn’t particularly efficient either. So what’s being done to improve how drayage works so that shipments can be transported faster and smoother?

What Is the Future of Drayage Service?

Technology is playing a huge role in improving drayage service. Specifically, data analytics and artificial intelligence tools are being used to make this service more efficient. Some interesting ideas include an “Uber for drayage” tool.

However, working with an experienced transportation provider with an extensive carrier network that’s ready to carry your drayage loads essentially does the same thing.

What Are the Different Types of Drayage?

Not all drayage is the same. In fact, there are six different types of drayage service that you should know about, including:

• Expedited
• Inter-carrier
• Intra-carrier
• Door-to-door
• Pier
• Shuttle

Let’s discuss these different types of drayage in greater detail to provide you with a better understanding.

1. Expedited Drayage

Expedited drayage relates to drayage that needs to be completed as soon as possible. If you have a time-sensitive shipment that needs to be shipped on a tight timeline, then you should consider expedited drayage.

Expedited drayage often involves road freight so that the items can arrive quickly and safely. In most cases, these road freight shipments are considered “less than truckload” or LTL and are shipped on smaller trucks.

2. Inter-Carrier Drayage

Inter-carrier drayage involves transferring goods from one transport medium to another. This is the most common type of drayage and is likely what comes to mind when you first think of the term.

For example, inter-carrier drayage could mean transferring goods from a shipping port to a rail station.

3. Intra-Carrier Drayage

Intra-carrier drayage involves transferring goods between two different hubs that are owned by the same entity.

For example, intra-carrier drayage could mean transferring goods from an intermodal hub to a railroad station that’s owned by the same entity.

4. Door-to-Door Drayage

Door-to-door drayage involves transferring goods directly from the shipper to the retail customer. In most cases, the transfer is done over the road using trucks or on the rail network using trains.

5. Pier Drayage

Pier drayage involves transferring goods over the road using trucks to a pier for shipping. For example, if you need to move goods from a rail terminal to an ocean shipping dock, then you would use pier drayage.

6. Shuttle Drayage

Shuttle drayage involves moving units of goods from one hub to a different area in the event of overcrowding in the main location.

Goods may be transferred to temporary holding areas like parking lots or storage containers until the goods in the main location can be cleared out.

Shuttle drayage can be used to address both loaded and empty cargo units.

Is Drayage Part of the Cold Chain?

Drayage is part of the cold chain, thanks to refrigerated shipping containers. These refrigerated shipping containers help ensure that perishable goods are kept at ideal temperatures throughout each step in the shipping process.

Some examples of perishable goods that are a part of the cold chain include pharmaceuticals, produce, and cut flowers.

Refrigerated shipping containers essentially act like giant refrigerators thanks to compressors, condensers, evaporators, and tons of insulation.

However, they are able to work independently and don’t need to be hooked up to anything to maintain a specific temperature. This means that they can be used to safely transport perishable items overseas, over the road, and on trains.

It’s incredibly important to maintain a constant and correct temperature throughout each of these steps to prevent food spoilage.

In fact, there are specific federal regulations outlined in the Food and Drug Administration’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). Specifically, the rules related to the Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food (STHAF) state that vehicles and transportation equipment must be easily cleaned.

They also must be capable of maintaining the temperatures necessary for the safe transport of food items. In addition, adequate temperature controls must be maintained, contamination must be prevented, and cross-contact must be avoided to prevent the spread of foodborne illnesses.

Why Is Drayage Important?

Just because you’ve never heard of drayage before doesn’t mean that it’s not important. But don’t just take our word for it — the numbers speak for themselves.

The Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) estimates that there are more than 60 million drayage movements each year in North America.

We specifically mentioned Los Angeles earlier because it represents one of the most valuable drayage marketplaces — valued at $60 billion a year. The Los Angeles drayage market effectively acts as the gateway to the Asia trade market.

Over 25% of the total container trade in North America comes through the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles ports. These two ports alone make up 32% of the market share in the United States and 73% of the market share on the West Coast, with cargo that’s valued at more than $194 billion.

The holiday season is peak shipping season, which means that the Los Angeles area ports are likely to experience massive backlogs of ships and delayed containers.

This is a problem for the entire supply chain that can be addressed in part by logistics providers.

So while drayage may not be a buzzword in Silicon Valley or on Wall Street, it’s incredibly valuable and extremely important within the transportation industry.

Thankfully, we here at RPM know just how important drayage is, and we are constantly working to offer efficient yet affordable drayage services to our customers.

How Much Does Drayage Cost?

While drayage is important, it’s definitely not cheap. On average, the cost for drayage shipments in the United States range from $80 to $100 per 100 pounds.

You get charged a base rate of 100 pounds and get charged in additional 100-pound increments from there.

So say, for example, you had a drayage shipment that weighed 150 pounds. Instead of paying for 150 pounds exactly, you would have to pay for 200 pounds worth of goods.

Some drayage carriers may also have minimum weight requirements. So even if your shipment only weighed 100 pounds, if the carrier has a minimum fee of 200 pounds per shipment, you would be charged for 200 pounds worth of goods.

Additionally, some drayage carriers charge additional fees when handling your drayage shipment, including:

• Chassis split fees: Are charged when a transporting chassis needs to be brought to the container’s location to be unloaded because there isn’t one already available in the vicinity
• Pre-pull fees: Are charged when a container is picked up from a location but isn’t loaded or delivered on the same day and effectively cover the cost of storing the container at the carrier’s yard.
• Drop fees: Are charged when truckers drop off containers at a location and come back later to pick them up once they have been unloaded, instead of loading and unloading the containers right away.

For this reason, it’s incredibly important to watch the weight of your drayage shipments to limit costs since these average estimates are based on standard packages that don’t require any special handling to move or transport.

But how can you minimize the weight of your drayage shipments to save money?

• Combine shipments: Since drayage shipping costs are rounded up, it often makes sense for you to combine multiple shipments into the same pallet or container so that it weighs as close to the next 100-pound mark as possible since you’re charged the same rate either way. You may need to get creative with your arrangements to find the most cost-effective solution.
• Choose the right packaging: To avoid extra drayage shipping fees, make sure that your items are packaged properly and safely so that you don’t have to pay extra for special handling. Protective packaging components like bubble wrap, air pouches, paper fillers, and custom inserts can be used to protect fragile items and bypass special handling.
• Use the right containers: To save time and money on your drayage shipments, make it easy to move your items by using easy-to-move containers like crates or square boxes. Try to secure multiple containers or boxes onto a single palette so that the carrier only has to move a single item rather than several different items.
• Use shipper-owned containers: You can further simplify the drayage shipping process by using shipper-owned containers. Also known as SOCs, these are containers that you essentially borrow from a container owner. This is a mutually beneficial relationship wherein you can bypass extra fees without paying for your own containers, and the shipper can earn money from containers they aren’t even using.

With these pro tips, you can minimize your drayage shipping costs and achieve a more efficient drayage shipping process instead of wasting tons of time and money on inefficient drayage shipping practices.

How to Choose a Drayage Shipping Provider

Clearly, drayage is a unique and specialized part of the transportation industry. As a result, it can be difficult to find a drayage shipping provider that meets your needs. When looking for a drayage shipping provider, you first need to ensure that they are properly qualified — meaning that they are licensed and insured.

From there, you need to ensure that they are experienced in this specific area of shipping and are familiar with the challenges that drayage shipping can present. Finally, you need to ensure that they have a good reputation and come recommended by their customers.

RPM offers a wide variety of drayage services to meet your needs. Whether you need to get shipments from the port to the rail station or from the rail station to the warehouse, RPM can make it happen thanks to our network of over 30,000 carriers.

Our carriers are all extremely qualified and extensively vetted to make sure that they are skilled and safe enough to handle your precious cargo.

Since we have such an extensive carrier network, we are able to offer different drayage transportation solutions, including less than truckload shipments, full truckload shipments, expedited shipments, and cross-border shipments.

We provide all modes of transportation and equipment types for our customers, including dry vans, flatbeds, reefer, bulk, dump, specialized, and hopper.

So reach out to RPM today for more information and a quote for your drayage shipping needs.

Conclusion

You’re ready to get started in this challenging yet exciting area with a shipping provider who is ready and willing to help you address all challenges that come up along the way.

RPM has nearly ten years of experience in this area and has won countless awards, so contact us today to see how we can help.

Sources:
Facts and Figures | The Port of Los Angeles
FSMA Final Rule on Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food | FDA
California's Busiest Port Is Straining the Global Supply Chain, Causing Delays | Bloomberg