Learn a new term: Drayage Container Shipping

  • December 21, 2020
  • Blog

What is drayage shipping?
When a freight forwarder has to move consignment over short distances, viz between rail yards, ports, facilities, or other shipping hubs of the same metropolitan area is considered container drayage shipping. Generally, drayage shipping is handled by trucks and is a part of intermodal transport.

The saga behind the term drayage
The adoption of the name goes back to the olden days when carriages were driven using horses. These carts were used without sides and were called dray as they could not handle long distances and moved goods over short distances within the villages and towns. Before the trucks came into existence, these were the only medium to move goods short distances.

How container drayage fits in intermodal transportation
Container drayage shipping is a small link but plays a critical role in the logistics supply chain. The drayage shipping link is extremely important as it takes care of the short route deliveries, and if they aren’t on time, the other operations may not go as per the planned schedule. The overall cargo movement depends on such drayage shipping to a lot extent.

Drayage shipping includes:

  • Port to the rail yard
  • Transporting consignment from port to port
  • Facility to the port, rail yard, and to another facility
  • Port to warehouse/dockyard/shipping hub

How does drayage transportation work?
As the drayage transportation is part of an intermodal network, it starts with receiving a container at the port, warehouse, facility, or rail point. Next, the received goods are unloaded, checked, separated, and loaded, and then taken and moved to their next destination. The short-distance drayage is managed and handled using trucks and at this point, a 3PL provider like 20Cube Logistics can help tremendously. So next, wherever or whenever you wish to transport your consignment for a short distance, use drayage shipping with proper planning and ensure a 3PL provider or professional freight forwarders in India is providing a helping hand.