You can consider drayage service the unsung hero of shipping. It’s crucial to global supply chains, bridging the gap for both intermodal and international shipments.

Growing businesses often develop a need for drayage services but can easily get overwhelmed by it. Unlike truckload or less-than-truckload (LTL), getting your items picked up and delivered with drayage shipping sometimes isn’t a straightforward process. From port congestion to demurrage, it’s easy to get lost in the tangled process of drayage. Yet, with a few quick tips and the right approach, you can make use of drayage services to your supply chain’s advantage.  

What ARE COMMON CHALLENGES WITH DRAYAGE? How Can I avoid Them?

Route Planning

One of the primary challenges faced by shippers handling drayage services is route planning. Ports and rail terminals often operate in congested cities with lots of traffic and frequent road closures. Poor route planning can lead to delays, missed appointments, increased fuel consumption, additional fees, and, most of all, frustrated customers.

Chassis/Equipment Shortages

Just like there can be ebbs and flows with truck trailer capacity, drayage brings the concern of its own equipment shortages. Chassis are what the containers sit on when hauled by the carriers. It’s important to mention that drayage carriers don’t own chassis. Instead, they rent the chassis from the port or terminal, thus adding an additional complexity to drayage services. Chassis shortages most often happen during peak shipping seasons and can create delays or additional costs for shippers.

Port or Terminal Delays

Delays can happen at the ports or terminals for several reasons. Unforeseen events like canal blockages (Suez Canal), the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, or possible rail strikes have most recently created delays for shippers. Customs clearance is often the most common cause of delays as the process can be intensive, and any improper documentation or misclassified products can cause a holdup. Container reshuffling can also be an issue from time to time when there are too many containers, whether full or empty, at the ports or terminals.

Additional Charges

Additional charges may be the bane of drayage services, second to delays. Drayage can come with many accessorial fees that can catch shippers off guard if not prepared. The most common fee you’ll hear about in drayage services is demurrage.

Once a container is delivered to the port or terminal, you’re given a set number of “free days” for it to be picked up by a drayage carrier. This is called your Last Free Day (LFD), and that’s the date you want to ensure your container is picked up so you won’t face this additional charge.

There are also drop fees. Drop fees are for when the drayage carrier must drop the container and then come back to pick it up and return it empty to the port or terminal.

Lastly, if the empty container is returned late to the port or terminal, that’s an additional fee.  

Lack of Transparency or Communication

With drayage services, you really need to have a clear picture of what’s happening if you want to reduce the chance of accruing any additional charges, not to mention any delivery delays or customer dissatisfaction. Effective communication between shippers, carriers, logistics providers, and port or terminal authorities is essential for smooth drayage shipping.

TIPS TO Avoid DRAYAGE SERVICE CHALLENGES

If you’ve experienced any of the previously mentioned challenges with drayage service, the great news is there are really only two tips you need to make it seamless.

Proper Planning and Time Management

Most of the challenges with drayage are caused by improper planning, unforeseen circumstances, or misinterpretation at the port. Proper time management and planning are essential to avoid those challenges in the first place. Ensuring you have properly evaluated and documented your freight, selecting the right drayage carrier based on your needs, and taking into consideration factors like port or terminal timings or traffic.

Additionally, stay in the know of what’s going on in the market. Are there any anticipated delays or disruptions that could change your plans? Do you have a contingency plan in place should an unforeseen event occur? The more planning you’ve made ahead of your drayage shipment, the better your supply chain will operate.  

Work with the Right Drayage Provider

Working with the right provider can significantly impact the success of your drayage service. While that tip is easy to state, how do you determine if a provider is the right one for your needs?

When searching for a drayage service provider, you should ensure they:

By prioritizing these characteristics when looking for a drayage service provider to work with, you’ll quickly find that selecting the right one will improve your company’s competitiveness and service by helping you overcome these common challenges.

WORK WITH TRINITY FOR The Best DRAYAGE SERVICES

Speaking of reliable drayage service providers, you’re currently hot in your search already!

Trinity Logistics is a nationwide, top-rated third-party logistics (3PL) provider capable of helping you overcome any challenges you’ve been facing with your drayage service. You should consider us because:

Trustworthy Carrier Relationships

We treat and respect our carrier relationships and aim to build a strong partnership with each one to help their businesses be successful. Because of that, we’ve built trusted partnerships with those in our carrier network, gaining you access to the capacity you need and the service you want.

24/7/365 Support

No matter what happens, we’re ready to support you around the clock. We have a dedicated After-Hours Team to continue the monitoring of your freight and are ready to quickly resolve potential challenges, no matter the time of night, holidays, and every weekend.

Tracking and Tracing

We understand transparency is key to your drayage success, so we offer several ways to view and keep track of your freight, no matter the time of day.

Team of Experts

Our only job is logistics. It’s what we handle day in and day out. We’ve been working in this industry for 45 years and have seen all the ups, downs, delays, and disruptions the freight market has thrown at us, so we know how to handle tough situations. Additionally, we stay knowledgeable about what’s going on and keep you informed of anything that could come your way, with a backup plan at the ready.

Clear Communication About Charges

From the start, we are transparent about costs and help you understand all the different charges that you may see or come across with drayage service.

Your Trinity relationship will provide a list of any potential charges that may arise, such as any overweight, drop, or hazmat fees. Our goal is to ensure you know exactly what to expect so there are never any surprises.

An additional benefit to our trusted carrier relationships is our capability of keeping any fees from the port tied to the clearance of any containers from being billed back to you and being able to be competitive with those drayage rates.

Yes, drayage services can be complex and challenging at times, but it doesn’t have to be if you choose to work with Trinity Logistics.

 I WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT TRINITY’S DRAYAGE SERVICE

At the time this article is being published, it’s been 22 months, just shy of 2 years, with Covid-19. As time has passed and treatments and vaccines have become available, most (though not all) of life has returned to normal. A “new normal” as many now call it. In-person gatherings and events have returned, remote and flexible workstyles have become the new norm, kids are back in school, and online shopping and inflation have rapidly risen. So, what are we wishing wasn’t part of this “new normal”? Supply chain disruption.

The Start of Supply Chain Disruption

As COVID-19 began to spread, governments responded with lockdowns. Nonessential businesses closed, and panicked consumers bought out paper products, soap, and disinfectants. With many businesses closed or down to a skeleton crew, this meant longer transportation times. To make do, alternative routes and modes were sought out, but even those became backlogged too. Shipping networks started to become strained. With people staying home and governments offering financial help, online shopping quickly increased.

Amidst the waves of Covid-19 came more supply chain disruption. There was the Texas freeze that caused many manufacturing plants to shut down. Then there was the Suez Canal blockage which caused severe delays in imports from several days of being blocked. There were the wildfires that raged across the west coast, adding further supply chain disruption. As a result, companies have faced material shortages, increased freight costs, labor shortages, tight capacity, and more. 

Current Conditions


In the standard supply chain, raw materials get sent to factories to manufacture goods. Then shipped to warehouses for storage, then to retailers or consumers. Currently, companies face warehouse shortages, labor shortages, tight capacity, exponentially high freight rates, and import delays. It’s gotten so bad for so long that supply chain disruption continues to be a headline in the news. Even people not in or knowledgeable about logistics are talking about it. 

The hot topic in the news as of late is the overwhelming demand surging at U.S. ports. Demand for goods has grown so rapidly since the start of the pandemic that it’s equal to adding about 50 million new Americans to the economy, as reported by Insider. Lately, we’ve seen record highs in ships waiting to dock, containers waiting to unload, a lack of storage space to put goods, and empty containers sitting in truck lots and streets, with no place to go. 

What to Expect in 2022

Experts continue to say that we will keep seeing supply chain disruption and delays through 2022, if not to 2023. This is because we’ll still have our current supply chain bottlenecks to work through, labor, material, and warehousing shortages to figure out, and Covid-19 remains an issue. 

But perhaps we will begin to see some easing of supply chain disruption this coming year. For one, the recently passed infrastructure bill will hopefully begin to affect and strengthen supply chains through its funding into roads, bridges, and ports. More and better infrastructure will help keep certain supply chain disruptions at bay, such as offering more warehousing space and keeping bridges and roads safe and free from closing. Nonetheless, this is longer-term and farther out. 

Ideally, what would give the supply chain some short-term relief would be if consumers slowed down a bit with their online shopping. It’s still expected that consumer spending will at one point switch back to travel and entertainment at some port, but no one is quite sure when that may happen.

Tips for Shippers

The past (almost) two years have shown us that supply chains aren’t as resilient as we thought they were. Considering we’re still in the thick of supply chain disruption, it makes sense to improve your supply chain and logistics. Here are some tips you may find useful in keeping your business moving forward until we get back to normal.

Consider Shortening Your Chain

Global supply chains are seeing the worst disruption in their logistics. If anything’s come to light since Covid-19 began, it’s that businesses might want to look into shortening their supply chains. One way to do this is by moving your manufacturing back to the U.S., also known as onshoring. 

Identify Any Vulnerabilities 

By understanding where any risks lie, you’ll be able to better protect yourself from supply chain disruption. You’ll need to take some time to map out your entire supply chain, down to your distribution facilities and transportation hubs. Though this may be time-consuming and expensive, it can help prevent you from facing a surprise disruption that brings your business to a stop and can be much more costly. 

Diversify Your Supply Chain

Once you’ve identified where risk is in your supply chain, you can take that information to address it. This can be done by diversifying your resources. Instead of heavy dependence on one high-risk source, you can add more sources in locations that are not vulnerable to the same risk, so if one gets disrupted, you don’t have to be shut down completely. 

Begin Holding Safety Stock (if possible)

This may not be possible for all shippers, and now may not be the best time to start this considering all the current bottlenecks supply chains are facing. But, when possible, this is something that could save you from supply chain disruption down the road. 

Keep Up With Timely Communication

Communication is always needed to run your best business, but even more so during this pandemic. Make sure you are communicating properly and timely with your carriers and transportation providers on any new sanitation procedures, requirements, changes in operating hours, or upcoming closures. 

Also, Keep Transparency

Be transparent with your audiences. They appreciate it more than you think.

Stay Informed

COVID-19 and many other supply chain disruptions came quickly, and the future remains uncertain. Be sure to stay updated on current developments that may end up slowing down your business.

Find Support in a Transportation Partner

Third-party logistics companies, such as Trinity Logistics, can help you find creative ways to your logistics challenges. We’re experienced in complicated situations and stay knowledgeable on what is going on in the industry. We were quickly able to pivot when the pandemic first hit, so we could keep your business moving forward. We know that even in times of disruption, the shipping industry does not stop, so neither do we. 

If you’re ready to gain support in your logistics with Trinity Logistics, no matter the condition of the industry, let’s get connected.

GAIN SUPPORT WITH TRINITY

Author: Christine Morris