The base drayage rate is the part nobody disputes. The disputes are about the accessorials — the situational charges that turn a clean quote into a longer invoice. None of them are junk fees; each maps to real work or real equipment. But they only feel fair when they’re named before the move, not explained after it. Here’s the field guide.
Chassis, and the split
The chassis — the wheeled frame under the container — is usually rented separately from the box in the US, so it’s its own line: a daily rate and a source.
The one that surprises people is the chassis split: when the chassis and the container have to be picked up in different locations, the trucker makes an extra trip to marry them. That trip is dead mileage (see bobtail below) and it’s billed as a split. It’s not avoidable on every lane, but it should be disclosed, not discovered.
Pre-pull
A pre-pull is pulling the container from the terminal before your delivery appointment and holding it at the trucker’s yard — to beat the last free day or because no appointment is available in time. It adds a move and a little yard storage. On a tight free-time window it’s usually the cheapest insurance you can buy, because the alternative is demurrage.
Detention (the driver’s clock)
On a live unload, the driver gets a short free window — often around two hours — to be unloaded. Past that, driver detention accrues per hour. It’s not a penalty for anything you did wrong; it’s the trucker’s time. The way to avoid it is a dock that can turn a container inside the free window, or switching to drop-and-hook if you can’t.
Storage, tolls, and redelivery
- Yard storage — holding your box at the trucker’s yard (after a pre-pull, or when you’re not ready).
- Tolls — pass-through road and port toll charges.
- Redelivery / dry run — if a delivery is attempted and can’t be completed (dock closed, not ready), the wasted trip is billed.
Overweight
An overweight container — over legal road weight on a standard chassis — needs a tri-axle chassis, a permit, and sometimes special routing, each an accessorial. Dense cargo (machinery, minerals, liquids) hits this often. Knowing the laden weight before dispatch avoids a truck turned away at the scale and the whole move re-quoted.
The ones that save you money
Two accessorial-adjacent moves cut cost when they’re available:
- Street turn: reusing your import box as an export empty without returning it to the terminal — saves a trip and per-diem, with carrier approval.
- Drop-and-hook over live unload when your dock is slow — trades a waiting driver for a held box; often the cheaper side of the trade.
How to keep accessorials honest
The accessorials themselves aren’t the problem — surprise is. On any drayage quote, ask:
- Is the chassis named, with its rate and any split risk on this lane?
- Are pre-pull, storage, detention and overweight listed, even at zero, so nothing appears unannounced?
- What’s the free time before detention starts?
- Is a street turn possible if you have an export booking?
We itemize every one of these the same way on every quote, so invoice day looks like quote day. Send us a lane and see it laid out line by line.