Container Drayage Guide from Los Angeles
If this is your first time importing a container, congratulations! Drayage is what we call the transportation process of picking up and delivering your container from the port to your door.
How Does Drayage Work?
There are 3 basic costs that you must take into consideration for most drayage moves. We call these 3 costs the "drayage formula" and the most straightforward drayage moves will consist of these 3 elements.
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Dray: the roundtrip cost to deliver your container from the port to your door, known as the "dray."
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Fuel: the cost of fuel for transporting your container, known as fuel surcharge (FSC).
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Chassis: The cost per day for the chassis (the wheeled equipment your container sits on).
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Drayage Cost = Dray + Fuel + Chassis (per day)
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In some cases, due to factors outside our control, other accessory costs will incur such as: ​​
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Pre-pull: A pre-pull is the cost for picking up your container from the port the day before your delivery appointment. Pre-pulls happen when available appointment times at the port do not allow for a same-day delivery to your door.
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Storage: Container storage costs can occur if we cannot deliver the loaded container to your door the same-day, or if we cannot return the empty container to the port after unloading. This is a daily cost. ​
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Triaxle: If your container is overweight, it must be moved on a triaxle chassis in order to meet safety regulations. Triaxle charges are a daily cost. Learn More
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Waiting Time: After 2 hours have gone by at the port or at your delivery location, a per hour waiting time charge will incur to cover the cost of having the driver standing by.
Cargo at Port
Once your container arrives to the Port of Los Angeles or Long Beach, it docks at a specific terminal within the port depending on the steamship line we use. The container is then unloaded from the vessel and parked inside the terminal's storage yard until we schedule a pick up time on the terminal's website.
From this point forward, the terminal gives us a certain amount of free storage days to pick up the container before the last free day, known as the LFD in logistics terminology. If we are unable to pickup the container within this timeframe, the terminal will charge a daily fee called demurrage.
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How to Avoid Demurrage
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Clear customs.
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Pay the traffic mitigation fee (known as TMF). Currently $35.57 for a 20ft container or $71.14 for a 40ft container.
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Pay the $10.00 per TEU Clean Truck Fee (known as CTF) ($20.00 for a 40ft container).
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It is crucial that your container is clear of any Customs, CTF, and TMF holds once the free pickup time begins. We will be unable to pick up your cargo if customs isn't cleared.
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Once all holds are clear, we pick up and deliver your container to your door, and return the empty container back to the terminal. The steamship line will give you a certain amount of free days to unload and return the container. If for some reason you exceed these free days, a daily fee called per diem until the container is returned.
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Since 2009 we have been providing container shipping solutions for dry and refrigerated cargo to importers and exporters in Los Angeles, the United States, and around the world.
