Drayage
Drayage is the short-haul road movement of a container — typically between a port or rail terminal and a nearby warehouse, depot or another terminal. It is the first and last road leg that connects the ocean or rail portion of a journey to the wider inland network, usually done on a trailer or chassis pulled by a drayage truck.
Though short, drayage is a critical and often congested link: port drayage gets import boxes out of the terminal and export boxes in on time, and delays here cause demurrage and detention. It depends on chassis availability, terminal appointment systems and trucker capacity, and is a distinct, heavily scheduled part of container logistics — the humble move that keeps boxes flowing between the quay and the door.
A container's ocean voyage is wasted if it sits stuck at the terminal — drayage is the move that gets it out, and delays here trigger demurrage and detention charges. In congested ports, chassis and drayage capacity are a real bottleneck, so scheduling and tracking the drayage leg tightly protects both cost and delivery time.
What is the difference between drayage and haulage?
Drayage is a short move around a port or terminal area; haulage generally refers to longer-distance road transport of the container inland.
Why does drayage affect demurrage?
If drayage does not collect an import container in time, it overstays at the terminal and incurs demurrage charges.