If you are still getting with shipping, this may be your first time seeing the term drayage. However, this is one of the most common words used in the transportation industry. Drayage is a type of trucking service where trucks transport goods over short distances, which can include:
- Inter-carrier: This is the transportation of freight between carriers. Some examples are port terminal to rail, rail to rail, rail to sea, trucking station to trucking station, etc.
- Intra-carrier: This is cargo transportation within the same carrier’s transportation hub. For example, moving a container from a truck owned by a company to a vessel owned by that company.
- Pier: This is the movement of goods to a seaport to be loaded onto a ship.
- Shuttle: This is when carriers move containers to a temporary storage location due to overcrowding in docks, shipping hubs, or terminals.
- Expedited: This is for sensitive cargo that a shipper must transport within a limited time.
While drayage transports goods for short distances, it is distinct from cartage. Cartage is when a handler separates cargo into smaller loads before transportation, while drayage is the whole container movement.
The History of Drayage
While current drayage is the movement of containers by vehicle, this cargo transportation was around before the 18th century. The word drayage originated from the term dray, a cart or wagon used to haul freight. Initially, horses were used to transport the drays filled with heavy cargo. The trolleys were moved, loaded, and unloaded between seaports, railroad terminals, and warehouses. As technology advanced, semi-trucks and chassis that could carry large containers replaced the dray horses and carts. This was ideal since the rise of international shipping meant more goods would be imported and exported from the U.S.
The Modern-Day Significance
Currently, the U.S. drayage industry is worth more than $50 billion. The Intermodal Association of North America reports more than 60 million drayage movements yearly in the U.S. Drayage is even more significant today due to technological inventions like trucks, containers, and containerships. The creation of containers in the late 1950s led to shipping cost reductions and the moving of more freight globally. With increasing cargo shipped by carriers into ports, shippers required a growing number of drayage services. Businesses began requiring trucking to transfer containers to their facilities, and a multi-billion industry was born and still expanding today.
While essential, drayage services are part of larger supply chains for moving goods to the final destination. An example can be transporting freight to a truck from a warehouse, then to a vessel, back to a vehicle, and finally to a warehouse. However, drayage is an important step that may make or break a supply chain. If you need drayage services to move your cargo, contact A1 Freight Solutions at 786-375-9420 or info@a1fsinc.com. A1 is in contact with an extensive list of the best carriers prepared to carry your load anywhere domestically. Our company also provides other services such as expedited, heavy haul, temperature controlled, etc.