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What Is Drayage?

What Is Drayage?

Drayage Meaning, the Types of Drayage and How an Import Container Leaves the Port of NY and NJ

Quick answer

What does drayage mean?

Drayage is the short truck move that takes a shipping container between a port or rail terminal and its next stop, such as a warehouse, a rail ramp or a yard, and brings the empty back. It is quoted per container, and it runs on port rules: releases, gate credentials, appointments, a chassis and free time.

Updated October 2026 by the HTS Logistics broker team (FMCSA MC# 1178470).

Drayage meaning in shipping and logistics

In shipping, drayage is the first or last truck leg of a container's trip. HTS arranges container drayage at the Port of New York and New Jersey as a licensed broker, so the examples here come from that port: the ocean or rail carrier moves the box between ports or ramps, and a dray carrier moves it between the terminal and the customer's door. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey says about 85% of the goods that come through its port move by truck and stay in the region, and that local truck leg is drayage.

Three things make a dray different from an ordinary truckload. The container belongs to an ocean line and is borrowed under an interchange agreement, the UIIA. It rides on a separate wheeled frame, the chassis, often rented from a pool by the day. And two clocks run on it: free time at the terminal, then per diem until the empty is back. Miss either and the charges start, and getting through the gate takes port credentials a long-haul carrier does not need.

Types of drayage

The common types are named after where the container goes:

Types of drayage with Port of New York and New Jersey examples
TypeWhat movesNY/NJ example
Port drayage A container between a marine terminal and a warehouse, plant or jobsite, then the empty back. An import discharged at Maher in Elizabeth delivered to a central New Jersey warehouse, with the empty returned to whichever terminal the line names that day.
Rail (intermodal) drayage A container between a terminal or customer and a rail ramp. The Port Authority's ExpressRail system loads trains at or next to the terminals (680,364 rail lifts in 2025); boxes for off-dock yards such as CSX South Kearny or Norfolk Southern Croxton need a truck to get there.
Inter-terminal moves A loaded box or an empty moved between two terminals or depots. PNCT's empty-return list for October 19, 2026 sent ZIM's 20 ft dry empties to Maher instead of PNCT.
Pre-pull (shuttle) A container pulled before its last free day and parked on its chassis at a yard until the receiver is ready. Worth it when yard and chassis days cost less than terminal demurrage, which starts at $222–$231 a day for a 20 or 40 ft box.
Out-of-gauge drayage Flat racks and open tops whose cargo sticks out past the container frame. 2 free days instead of 4, the terminal's OOG window (Wednesdays only at PNCT as posted in October 2026) and often a permit for the road.
Export drayage An empty to the shipper for loading, then the loaded box back to the terminal before the vessel's cutoff. Port Liberty Bayonne closes hazardous, refrigerated and oversize export cargo one day before the posted cutoff, and containers loaded with cars 72 hours before the vessel closes.

Out-of-gauge moves have their own rules for sizes, terminal windows and permits; see our page on flat racks and open tops.

How an import container moves out of the Port of NY and NJ, step by step

These steps follow the terminals' own rules as published in October 2026. Portals and gate hours for each terminal are in our guide to the six NY/NJ container terminals.

  1. Arrival notice and delivery order

    The ocean line or your forwarder sends an arrival notice with the last free day. You or your customs broker then send a delivery order (DO) that names the drayage carrier and carries the bill of lading number, container number, terminal, vessel and the empty return location.

  2. Release and holds

    The box must be off the ship, released by the line and Customs, and clear of terminal and government holds. Each terminal shows this in its own system, and PNCT will not release a container until every demurrage charge and fee on it is paid.

  3. Appointment

    At APM Terminals Elizabeth the carrier books a TERMPoint window (ten 1-hour windows from 6 AM since December 1, 2025) and assigns a driver at least 1 hour ahead. Port Liberty Bayonne takes PortTruckPass appointments from 6 AM to 1 PM. PNCT takes trucks without one.

  4. Chassis

    The driver picks up a pool chassis at a depot such as the Elizabeth Chassis Depot (1510 Bay Avenue) or C&C Marsh Street (88 Marsh Street, Newark), or brings the carrier's own. At APM, pool chassis must use in-gate lanes 14–24.

  5. In-gate

    The gate reads the truck's RFID tag, the driver inserts the SeaLink card at the kiosk and gives the appointment number, and the kiosk prints a yard location or a trouble ticket. A trouble ticket that pre-checking would have caught costs the trucker $98.72 under the NYTC tariff.

  6. Out-gate

    The equipment interchange receipt (EIR) records the container and chassis condition as they leave. At APM the driver pins the chassis at the pinning station before the Customs radiation portals; leaving any NYTC terminal without a final ticket costs $126.37.

  7. Delivery

    Live unload, with the driver waiting, or drop, with the container left on its chassis to unload later. A drop frees the truck but keeps the chassis rent and the line's per diem running.

  8. Empty return

    The empty goes to the terminal or depot the line names that day; APM requires a TERMPoint appointment for empty drop-offs and has the driver open the doors for inspection. Under the UIIA, per diem stops only when the equipment is back at the location the provider specified.

Where the chassis comes from and goes back (step 4) decides whether the move needs an extra trip; our guide to how chassis pools work covers the pools, splits and return fees.

What shows up on a drayage invoice

The move itself, terminal to door and the empty back, has no public tariff; each carrier quotes it per container. Around it sit charges with published figures, set by the chassis pools, the terminals and the state:

Drayage invoice charges with published Port of NY and NJ figures, October 2026
ChargeWhen it appliesPublished figure
Chassis rent Each day the container sits on a pool chassis $45.00 a day at DCLI (Northeast, from July 1, 2026); $37.75 in Flexi-Van's North East Pool; $55.00 for users not registered with DCLI
Chassis return fees A chassis returned somewhere the pool does not allow $400 (TRAC) or $475 (DCLI) to return a New Jersey chassis at Port Liberty New York
Terminal demurrage The loaded box sits at the terminal after free time $231 a day for days 1–4 at NYTC terminals, $222 at Maher; $459 and $426 for flat racks and open tops
Line per diem (detention) The line's container stays out past its free days Set in each ocean line's tariff; under the UIIA the provider must invoice within 60 days of the return
Terminal trucker charges Trouble ticket, missed appointment, chassis change, out-of-gauge swing $98.72, $94.67, $189.78 and $901.43 under the NYTC tariff from October 5, 2026
Crane lift Maher lifting an over-dimensional flat rack with a container crane $5,513.89 for one lift (Maher tariff, October 1, 2026)
Overweight permit A sealed container over 80,000 lb on New Jersey roads Annual ocean-borne container permit, $100 base fee plus a $12 transaction fee and 5% service charge, good to 90,000 lb

Four more lines depend on the carrier's rate confirmation: a pre-pull plus yard storage, waiting time when a live unload runs past the free time the carrier allows, a dry run when the truck is dispatched but the box is on hold or the site is closed, and bridge tolls on New York runs (Port Liberty New York reimburses Goethals, Bayonne and Outerbridge tolls to 2008 levels for truckers it serves). Ask for each in writing before the move. Who owes demurrage and per diem, and how to dispute them, is in our guide to how demurrage and per diem are billed.

Drayage vs long-haul trucking

The difference is the port: a long-haul truckload starts at a shipper's dock with the carrier's own trailer, while a dray starts at a secured terminal with someone else's container.

Drayage compared with long-haul truckload
Drayage at NY/NJLong-haul truckload
Equipment The ocean line's container on a pool or carrier chassis, borrowed under the UIIA The carrier's own van, reefer or flatbed
Access TWIC card ($124), SeaLink card ($30), a truck in the Drayage Truck Registry with an RFID tag, and an engine the port still admits The shipper's and receiver's dock rules
Clocks Terminal free time (4 days for a dry box), then demurrage; line per diem until the empty is back Waiting time at the dock under the rate confirmation
Paperwork Delivery order, gate ticket and an EIR at each gate Bill of lading and proof of delivery
Trip A loaded box out and an empty back, both inside the terminals' weekday gate hours (6 AM to between 4 and 7 PM) One-way, with the carrier finding its own next load

That is also why drayage and trucking get quoted differently. A Long Island delivery from Port Newark is about 70 road miles each way, but the bill also carries terminal time, chassis days and the empty return, none of which depend on distance.

Drayage questions

Is drayage the same as freight?

No. Freight is the cargo, or the charge for carrying it on the main leg, usually the ocean voyage. Drayage is the short truck leg at either end and is billed separately: the ocean freight gets the box to Port Newark, and the dray takes it from the terminal gate to your door and brings the empty back. Some port costs, such as the $14.80 per loaded TEU Cargo Facility Charge, reach you through the line instead.

Is drayage the same as LTL?

No. LTL (less-than-truckload) carriers combine pallets from many shippers in one trailer and sort them through their own terminals. A dray moves one ocean container as a single unit, from the port to one consignee, on a chassis and under port rules such as TWIC cards and terminal appointments. The cargo can still be split up after the dray, at a transload warehouse.

What is a dray carrier?

A motor carrier set up to haul ocean and rail containers. At the Port of New York and New Jersey that means a UIIA interchange agreement backed by $1 million auto and $1 million general liability insurance, drivers with TWIC and SeaLink cards, trucks in the Port Authority's Drayage Truck Registry with one RFID tag, and engines new enough for the port's model-year rule.

What is a pre-pull in drayage?

A pre-pull takes a container out of the terminal before its last free day and parks it on its chassis at a yard until the receiver can take it. It pays off when the box would otherwise run into terminal demurrage, which starts at $222 to $231 a day for a 20 or 40 ft box at NY/NJ terminals and climbs after day 4, and the yard and chassis days cost less.

What is an EIR in drayage?

The equipment interchange receipt: the record made at the gate when a container or chassis changes hands. Under the UIIA it describes the equipment and any visible damage, either on the receipt or in time-stamped images that both sides can get free for one year. It is the trucker's proof of the equipment's condition and of when it left and came back.

Does a container going by rail need a drayage move?

Not always. The Port Authority's ExpressRail system loads containers onto trains at or next to the terminals, and the port recorded 680,364 rail lifts in 2025. A box routed to an off-dock ramp, such as CSX's South Kearny yard or Norfolk Southern's Croxton yard in New Jersey, needs a dray to reach it, and the inland rail ramp usually needs another truck at the other end.

Sources

Facts on this page were checked in October 2026 against the sources below. Rules and rates change; we confirm current requirements on every move.

  1. Port Authority of NY and NJ: truckers (85% of goods move by truck; credentials) (checked Oct 17, 2026)
  2. Port Authority of NY and NJ: facts and figures (2025 rail lifts)
  3. Port Authority of NY and NJ: facilities map (ExpressRail) (map dated January 2020)
  4. APM Terminals Elizabeth: TERMPoint appointment window change (effective Dec 1, 2025)
  5. APM Terminals Elizabeth: driver information (lanes, pinning station, roadability)
  6. APM Terminals Elizabeth: TERMPoint user guide and FAQs (January 2025)
  7. PNCT: payment methods (fees paid before release)
  8. PNCT: empty returns (effective Oct 19, 2026)
  9. Port Liberty Bayonne: carriers and truckers (appointments, export cutoffs)
  10. Port Liberty New York: carriers and truckers (toll reimbursement)
  11. New York Terminal Conference Schedule No. 011408 (effective October 5, 2026)
  12. Maher Terminals Schedule No. 010599 (October 1, 2026 (demurrage rates effective May 5, 2025))
  13. DCLI: daily market rates (effective July 1, 2026)
  14. DCLI: Northeast chassis locations (checked Oct 16, 2026)
  15. TRAC Intermodal: Metro Pool availability and Port Liberty New York drop-off fee (checked Oct 16, 2026)
  16. Flexi-Van: pool chassis rates
  17. IANA: Uniform Intermodal Interchange and Facilities Access Agreement (UIIA) (last revised June 18, 2026)
  18. IANA: UIIA insurance requirements
  19. TSA: TWIC
  20. N.J.A.C. 13:18-1.2(c), annual ocean-borne container permit
  21. N.J.A.C. 13:18-1.6, permit fees (current rule hosted by NJDOT)
  22. OSRM route estimate: East Northport to Port Newark via Throgs Neck and GWB (computed October 2026, approximate)
  23. Port Authority of NY and NJ: Cargo Facility Charge annual report 2026

Have a container arriving at the Port of NY and NJ?

Send the container number, the terminal and the last free day. We confirm the release, book a credentialed drayage carrier and quote the move with the chassis and terminal charges we can see in advance.

  • FMCSA-licensed property broker, MC# 1178470
  • Drayage carriers with UIIA interchange and NY/NJ port credentials
  • Pickups planned around terminal appointments and free time
  • Importers, exporters, forwarders and customs brokers

Prefer to talk? Call (631) 683-8275.

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