Originally referring to transport by humble, horse-drawn carts, today’s drayage is carried out by high-capacity trucks that efficiently move containerized cargo over short distances. This advancement has greatly streamlined processes, facilitating swift goods transfer without the need for unpacking and repacking. As a result, transit times and costs are reduced, enhancing overall efficiency.

What is drayage?

Drayage is a term used in the logistics industry to refer to transporting goods over a short distance, usually within the same city or metropolitan area. It is an essential part of the supply chain, connecting different modes of transportation and ensuring that products reach their final destination.

Drayage shipping is crucial for businesses of all sizes, whether they are large corporations or small startups. It allows companies to quickly move goods between ports, warehouses, and distribution centers, enabling them to keep up with customer demand and stay competitive in the market.

Types of drayage services

There are different types of drayage services available, depending on the specific needs and requirements of businesses.

Intermodal drayage

Intermodal drayage refers to the transportation of goods using multiple modes of transportation, such as trucks, trains, and ships. This method offers greater flexibility and efficiency in shipping goods over long distances. It also helps reduce costs and carbon emissions by utilizing different transport options based on their strengths.

Key Features:

• Completable within a single shift, forming a part of a longer haul in the shipping process.
• Apart from short goods transport, “drayage” holds other meanings within the industry. It can signify a vehicle pickup from or to an inland or border point, an intermodal terminal, or a seaport.
• Sometimes known as the charge on an invoice for such services, commonly applied in the container shipping sector for global trade.

Various scenarios call for its use. For instance, during a routine freight move involving multiple transportation modes like truck and rail, drayage takes place when the freight transitions from truck to train. Here, shipping documents are updated, and potentially, the freight may be reorganized (split or palletized) for its onward journey.

Pier / port drayage

Pier drayage refers to the movement of goods between a port, specifically a seaport, and an inland location. It is often used for importing or exporting large volumes of goods. It is a key component of ocean freight shipping to streamlining the movement through busy commercial ports.

Door-to-door drayage

Door-to-door drayage involves the pickup and delivery of goods from a business’s location to their final destination. This type of drayage is particularly useful for businesses that need to transport goods directly to their customers.

Intra-carrier drayage

Intra-carrier drayage refers to the movement of goods through drayage trucks within the same carrier’s network, such as between different warehouses or distribution centers. This type of drayage is often used for consolidating shipments and optimizing delivery routes.

Expedited drayage

Expedited drayage is a specialized service that offers faster delivery times for urgent shipments. This type of drayage may involve the use of dedicated vehicles and drivers to ensure timely delivery.

The importance of drayage in shipping

Drayage plays a crucial role in the freight shipping process, especially for businesses that rely on importing and exporting goods. Here are some reasons why drayage is important:

• Connecting different modes of transportation: Drayage helps bridge the gap between different types of transport, such as ships, trains, and trucks. This ensures that goods can be moved seamlessly from one mode of transportation to another, ultimately reaching their final destination.
• Time and cost savings: By using drayage services, businesses can save time and money by avoiding the need for multiple shipments or transfers between different carriers. This also helps reduce the risk of delays and damages to goods during transport.
• Access to specialized equipment: Drayage providers often have access to specialized equipment and vehicles, such as flatbeds or refrigerated trucks, that are necessary for transporting specific types of goods. This makes it easier for businesses to ship their products without having to invest in expensive equipment themselves.
• Flexibility and efficiency: Drayage services offer flexibility and efficiency, allowing businesses to adapt quickly to changes in demand or unexpected situations. With shorter distances involved, drayage also helps reduce the overall transit time for goods.

Get better control over port and rail drays with Uber Freight

Navigating through ocean port and rail ramp congestion and inefficiency demands a dependable drayage partner committed to excellence and cost efficiency.

Uber Freight offers customized port drayage services for all commercial ports and inland rail ramps that serve the US. Our vetted network of proven dray carriers can offer spot or year-round capacity to cater to diverse shipping needs. Our hands-on approach involves direct coordination with core regional and national carriers selected through our drayage carrier program including 20’, 40’, and 45′ options. With Uber Freight, take command of your port and rail movements and steer your business towards smoother, more cost-effective shipping horizons.

FAQs

What is the difference between intermodal and drayage?

Intermodal refers to the use of multiple modes of transportation, such as a combination of trucks, trains, and ships. Each intermodal rail shipment has a drayage move on each end.  Drayage, on the other hand, specifically refers to the short-distance transport of goods between these different modes of transportation.

What are some common challenges with drayage shipping?

Some common challenges with drayage shipping include port congestion, delays due to poor coordination between different carriers, and finding reliable drayage providers.

What is an example of a drayage move?

An example of drayage is the movement of a shipping container from a port to a nearby warehouse or distribution center. This type of short-distance transport is essential for connecting different modes of transportation and ensuring the smooth delivery of goods.

What is a drayage truck?

Drayage trucks are large semi-trailers and trucks that transfer shipping containers or bulk freight between various shipping facilities.

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To help shippers effectively navigate, plan, and execute intermodal shipping as the landscape continues to evolve, Uber Freight is enhancing our investment in our intermodal suite of solutions. We’re committed to scaling this unit and providing the best combination of rates and routes for shippers through our strong relationships with major rail providers and access to thousands of containers. With this commitment in mind, today, we’re welcoming our new Head of Intermodal, D’Andrae Larry, to support our intermodal shippers every step of the way.

D’Andrae joins us from Norfolk Southern Corporation, where he led the railroad’s successful freight strategy within both their Automotive and Intermodal networks. With over 26 years of industry experience, D’Andrae will be a tremendous asset for our team as we continue to invest heavily in intermodal and enhance our solutions to meet the evolving needs of shippers today.

D’Andrae will play a critical role in ushering in this next chapter for our intermodal unit and driving its growth and success. Managing Uber Freight’s intermodal business — which moved 180K containers and 360K drays last year — he will be responsible for developing our intermodal business strategies, building strategic railroad and commercial relationships, and ultimately leading the team and nurturing its culture.

“We’re thrilled to have D’Andrae join our leadership team to help drive the acceleration of our intermodal unit and deliver even more value for our shippers,” said Lior Ron, CEO of Uber Freight. “Intermodal is a core part of our business and provides a key strategic advantage for our shipping partners, from lowering their carbon footprint to remaining agile in the face of volatility. A proven leader like D’Andrae is paramount for our team and the marketplace alike as the space continues to evolve and grow.”

With Uber Freight’s network scale, industry-leading marketplace technology, and commitment to reducing the environmental impact of moving goods, we’re uniquely positioned to help shape the future of intermodal. As D’Andrae comes aboard the Uber Freight team, he shares what’s top-of-mind for him, and what’s next for the business:

“Shippers are at an inflection point. The market desires optionality across modes, smart innovation that drives resiliency and efficiency, and a trusted logistics partner they can grow with,” D’Andrae said. “Uber Freight is in a unique position to be able to put all those puzzle pieces together, and I’m excited to join the team to help drive transformational growth for the business, our shippers, and their end customers. Intermodal is the perfect vehicle for achieving it all.”

Learn more about how Uber Freight can transform your intermodal strategy here.

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By: Carlos Godinez, VP Business Development, Mexico

This year marks another difficult year across the global supply chain with tight capacity, increasing inflation and lack of reliability continuing to trouble the industry. Carriers are facing high volatility, uncertainty and demand, while shippers need increased confidence so they can find capacity efficiently and at a fair price. These issues are only expected to worsen in 2022, according to a recent S&P Global market insights report.

When it comes to cross-border collaborations, there is no shortage of challenges. The supply chain flow across the US and Mexico border operates as a black hole — low load visibility and shipment control on both sides of the border are frequent, making it even harder to ensure goods will clear quickly and seamlessly. Complexities in evolving international trade are rising, making it difficult to stay up to date on the legal, regulatory, and industry changes. Additionally, long customs clearing times, multiple customer processes for different ports and a lack of capacity hinders operations.

With inefficiencies and high costs impacting the US and Mexico cross-border supply chain, it’s important now more than ever to have visibility and control over freight operations. Digital transformation must be at the root of all business solutions to keep the cross-border supply chain moving.

Current State

As one of the top trading partners for the US, Mexico accounted for 14.4 percent of the total trade of goods for the US as of December 2021, totaling about $661 billion in trade, according to data from the US Census Bureau. This number will continue to grow in the future, as it has over the last 20 years since the NAFTA agreement was put in place, with companies in both the US and Mexico looking to expand cross-border operations. Just last year, companies such as Phillips Industries, Grupo Industrial Saltillo, Stanley Black & Decker Inc. and Whirlpool Corp. announced expansions into Mexico, which totals more than $200 million in investment and about 3,000 new jobs.

Despite the recent boom in economic activity, there’s a perfect storm of challenges brewing across the US and Mexico supply chain. Peak seasons are running longer and trucking companies in both countries are struggling to find drivers, with many drivers retiring or leaving Mexico to work for a US-based carrier by taking advantage of the B1 visa scheme. Because the volume and velocity of shipments has increased for companies in both countries, it’s also becoming more feasible to bring freight from Europe or Asia directly into Mexico through ocean ports, which decreases the amount of southbound flow from the US and capacity coming directly into the Mexican marketplace.

Digital Transformation’s Role

Uncertainties have become common in the cross-border supply chain. Being aware of security challenges, the current economic environment and regulatory issues are crucial to keep supply chains moving seamlessly across the border. To manage and address the complexities of the cross-border supply chain, digital transformation is essential to promote real-time end-to-end visibility from freight origin, to customs clearance and final delivery.

The first place to start is ensuring businesses have the proper technology systems to keep supply chains moving. Traditional transportation management systems have a long history of being out of date, often hindering a business’ ability to respond to delays or impacts to time-sensitive shipments. The next generation of transportation management systems allows shippers to control all aspects of their supply chains by harnessing data from multiple sources and applying them to deliver real, sustainable outcomes to logistics and supply chain operations. Active shipments, on-time arrivals and delays, and carrier performance are among the key performance indicators tracked with an up-to-date transportation management system.

Additionally, organizations must implement a “control tower” type of approach to transportation management. With a mix of shipment data, weather and traffic alerts, customs updates and compliance regulations, shippers can have a singular, all-encompassing, real-time view of their supply chain. Plus, being a cloud-based solution, the modern-day transportation management system can provide organizations with a data center application at a significantly lower cost of ownership.

Integrated solutions across ground, intermodal and ocean transportation, warehousing and distribution, US and Mexico customs compliance and transloading can make cross-border shipping easier than ever. Businesses can utilize customs brokerage and trade compliance expertise to create a single, controlled logistics solution with access to all US and Mexico points of entry to simplify global trade operations. In addition, remaining versatile in the ever-changing regulatory environment of cross-border transportation can allow for flexible, strategic processes to help mitigate risk, reduce supply-chain costs and gain visibility for logistics operations.

The cross-border supply chain never sleeps — at all hours of the day and night, shipments are moving, data is being generated for supply chain insights, security measures and regulatory requirements are being navigated and unexpected events that impact operations can arise. Digital transformation must be at the forefront of all logistics operations to guarantee visibility, flexibility and control of supply chains into the future

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By: Frank McGuigan, Chief Executive Officer, Transplace

Yesterday, Transplace was thrilled to announce that it acquired Yusen Logistics Americas’ intermodal marketing company/over-the-road freight brokerage group. A subsidiary of Nippon Yusen Kaisha, Yusen Logistics is a global logistics and transportation provider that established a strong, successful North American intermodal business. This acquisition expands Transplace’s intermodal and freight brokerage capabilities and better positions us to meet the supply chain needs of our customers.

Expanding Our Intermodal Footprint & Capabilities

In today’s challenging marketplace, with fluctuating capacity and rising freight costs, more and more shippers are making intermodal a key component of their transportation operations. Transplace is committed to best positioning itself to provide our customers with flexible, reliable and secure intermodal solutions. And acquiring Yusen’s North American intermodal operations will allow our customers to better take advantages of this highly effective and efficient mode of transportation.

Yusen strengthens our current position in the intermodal market, drives more effective equipment utilization and increases our already deep pool of dray providers. The overall Transplace shipping community will benefit from network synergy with our current intermodal and over-the-road footprint, resulting in better opportunities for more effective execution of their intermodal shipments and mode conversion.

Another significant benefit of the acquisition is the group of experienced, talented logistics professionals that have joined the Transplace family. Yusen’s intermodal team will operate as part of our intermodal business unit – Celtic Intermodal – which is led by President Doug Punzel.

Transplace’s Strategic Approach to Acquisitions

The acquisition supports Transplace’s strategy of complementing strong organic growth with selective, strategic acquisitions. As with all of our acquisitions, it’s important to Transplace to find companies that are a great fit – both in their capabilities, geography and culture. Yusen established a strong presence in the industry along with a superb customer base, and brings a customer-centric culture that complements Transplace’s business and mission.

The addition of Yusen’s intermodal business enables us to better serve our existing customers as well as serve a new set of customers. Transplace is committed to providing exceptional transportation management services and technology, exceeding expectations and building long-term, strategic relationships with these new customers.

Do you have questions about the acquisition?

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