National Drayage Services Reduce Costs and Improve Industry Efficiency

National drayage services are a crucial part of the logistics industry, helping to transport goods between ports and inland terminals.

By outsourcing drayage services to a national provider, companies can reduce costs associated with hiring and managing their own drivers and equipment. This can save them around $1,000 to $1,500 per move, depending on the distance and type of cargo.

National drayage services often use a network of pre-screened and trained drivers, reducing the risk of accidents and damage to cargo. This network can also help to ensure that goods are delivered on time, improving customer satisfaction and reducing the need for costly expedited shipping.

Companies that rely on drayage services can also benefit from improved industry efficiency, as national providers often have the resources and expertise to optimize routes and reduce transit times.

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Intermodal services are a crucial part of national drayage services, connecting various transportation modes to streamline goods movement.

IronLink's intermodal drayage services seamlessly connect ports, rail terminals, and commercial warehouses, providing a comprehensive logistics network.

The role of the drayage industry in intermodal shipping is essential in getting products to consumers, involving the logistics process of getting goods from a port to their next destination.

Drayage companies employ two loading methods: drop-and-picks and live unloads. Drop-and-picks involve dropping off a container of goods at a location and picking it up later, while live unloads involve waiting until the container is unloaded onto the trailer.

The typical distance for most intermodal carrier services is 75 miles from the starting port to the destination port or location, allowing drayage drivers to make several trips to and from the port.

There are six classifications of drayage models in intermodal shipping, including pier drayage, door-to-door drayage, expedited drayage, inter-carrier drayage, intra-carrier drayage, and shuttle drayage.

Here are the classifications of intermodal drayage:

Shuttle drayage is primarily used when ports or rail terminals are experiencing overcrowding, storing goods containers at alternative locations to alleviate congestion and costs.

A drayage company needs to limit the average number of driver hours per shipment due to a shortage of drayage drivers, making each driver's total driver-hours more profitable.

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Drayage is a crucial part of shipping and distribution services, and it's rare for goods not to spend some time in drayage. Drayage services are essential to factor into your shipping expenses from the beginning.

Using a third-party logistics (3PL) provider can make managing drayage services significantly easier. 3PL companies have established networks and relationships with trucking companies and carriers to expedite the process and get the best prices for cargo transportation services.

The objective of a 3PL company is to ensure your goods are treated with care while being transported to their final destination. They verify that your shipments get to where they need to be quickly, efficiently, and with maximum cost-effectiveness.

Drayage is an essential piece of your cargo's journey, and 3PLs contract with the best carriers to ensure a smooth shipping process.

Drayage is a crucial part of shipping and distribution services, with most transported goods spending at least some time in drayage. The logistics process of drayage includes getting goods from a shipping container to their next destination, often involving a rail transport yard or a short metropolitan distance via truck.

The typical distance for most intermodal carrier services is 75 miles from the starting port to the destination port or location, allowing drayage drivers to make several trips to and from the port, depending on traffic and other factors.

Drayage companies employ two loading methods: drop-and-picks and live unloads. Drop-and-picks involve dropping off the container at a location, such as a warehouse, and picking it up later for further transportation. Live unloads involve physically waiting at the dock until the container is unloaded onto the trailer.

A shortage of drayage drivers is a common challenge, leading companies to limit the average number of driver hours per shipment. This encourages drayage drivers to make more trips in a day or week, increasing their profitability and allowing the drayage firm to turn more profits.

Drayage companies need to secure enough land to park and store the necessary trailers for incoming freight loads, as companies typically keep container trailers away from shipping terminals and rail yards.

If you're looking for reliable carriers for container drayage, you have plenty of options. National Drayage Services (NDS) is one of them, with a phone number of 910-622-0369 and website at http://www.ndsv.com/. You can also consider A.R.C. Transit, Inc. at 910-515-4538, or Atlantic Coast Trucking, Inc. at 910-803-0363.

Averitt Express is another carrier that offers container drayage services, with a phone number of 1-888-218-0707 and website at https://www.averitt.com/. They have a wide network of carriers and can provide efficient drayage services.

If you're looking for a carrier that specializes in container drayage, you may want to consider one of the following options:

Inter-Carrier drayage services involve the use of dray trucks and railway transportation to move containers between carriers.

It's a standard part of the drayage process that requires collaboration and communication between multiple carriers to get the container to its final destination.

Inter-carrier container drayage services are a classification of drayage services that often involves multiple carriers working together.

This model is a key part of logistics and shipping, allowing for the efficient movement of containers between different transportation modes.

Inter-carrier drayage is a crucial component of the drayage process, and its importance cannot be overstated.

By working together, carriers can ensure that containers are delivered quickly and efficiently, reducing transit times and costs.

Terminal congestion is a major issue at many ports, resulting in long backlogs of dray drivers waiting to pick up their containers. This is due to the expansion of port territory to accommodate larger ships.

The expansion of port territory is a challenge across the country, with some ports widening or deepening their channels or expanding their marine container terminals. This is necessary to accommodate the larger ships that can now reach ports on either coast.

Technological measures have helped mitigate the backlog of drivers, such as mobile apps that speed up the check-in and check-out processes at terminals.

Shipping lines typically own or lease containers and can charge multiple fees after three to seven days of “free time” elapse. The free time and fees can vary widely.

Demurrage is a charge you pay for a container inside a port beyond the free time allowed for unloading and returning a container.

Detention fees are a charge you pay for the use of the container outside the port, beyond the free time period.

If you're not careful, these fees can add up quickly. To avoid them, link up with a partner who can help you navigate the process.

Here are some key facts to keep in mind:

Contact a logistics expert today to get a free drayage quote and start avoiding these unnecessary fees.

Companies are facing significant challenges in the drayage services industry, with 95% of worldwide manufactured goods ending up in container drayage during their transport time.

The United States is the world's largest importer of goods, and national drayage services are seeing the effects of the increase in imports over recent years.

Many shipping ports have had to expand their territory, terminals, and equipment to accommodate larger ships, such as the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach in Southern California, which broke a cargo record in 2021.

Terminals at these ports have become more congested, and the backlog of dray drivers waiting to pick up their containers can be quite long.

In recent years, technological measures have helped mitigate the backlog of drivers, such as using mobile apps to speed up the check-in and check-out processes at terminals.

Automated gate systems at marine ports also speed up the loading process, while railyards utilize intelligent inventory cranes to stack containers to save space.

Manufacturers and distributors are encouraged to establish guaranteed container counts throughout a more extended contract with a carrier company, allowing the carrier to properly plan and allocate the amount of equipment needed for container drayage.

Carriers who own their equipment are generally more reliable than carriers that need to use equipment collaborations with other carriers.

Drayage costs can be a significant factor in national drayage services. The cost of a container trailer is included in the drayage service costs and paid per day.

The type of equipment used for drayage also affects costs. For example, standard 20-foot containers are the fastest and cheapest option, while 40-foot containers are the most expensive due to their size and the extra fuel needed to pull the weight.

There are three main equipment types used for drayage: 20-foot, 20-foot with triaxle, and 40-foot. The size and weight of your cargo containers will impact the cost and equipment utilized for drayage.

Here's a breakdown of the three equipment types:

Drayage costs can be unpredictable, but understanding the factors that influence them can help you budget and make informed decisions.

The size and weight of your cargo containers impact the cost and equipment utilized for drayage, with larger containers requiring more expensive equipment.

Most goods in North America are transported using three equipment types: 20-foot, 20-foot with triaxle, and 40-foot containers.

The fastest and cheapest drayage transportation option is a standard 20-foot container under the 38,500-lb. weight limit, which includes the truck and trailer.

Triaxle 20-foot trailers are typically employed to transport overweight containers, but they're more expensive than standard 20-foot chassis.

The 40-foot container is the largest container size available for motor carrier services, but it's also the most expensive due to its size and the extra fuel needed to pull the weight.

The cost of a container trailer is included in the drayage service costs and paid per day, with additional charges for refrigerated containers or the bill of lading.

The drayage industry has a rich history that dates back to the 16th to 19th centuries, when horse-drawn carts were the primary method of transporting goods.

The term drayage itself comes from the sideless, horse-drawn cart called a dray, which was used to haul goods from one point to another. Drays were a popular method of transportation in Europe during this time period.

Dray horses, also known as draft horses, were famous for their height, muscular mass, and strength. Some of the most well-known breeds of dray horses include Clydesdales, Shires, Irish Drafts, Comtois, Dutch Drafts, and Friesians.

Historically, drivers of drays were known as wagoners or muleskinners, but today they're called draymen or drayage drivers. Draymen typically complete their work in a single day, offering a significant benefit for intermodal shipping.

The drayage industry has evolved over time, and while dray horses have been largely replaced by modern machinery, they're still used in some areas for niche shipping services like farming and logging.