Are You Making These Common Drayage Mistakes?

Stop making these common drayage mistakes to avoid significant delays, higher costs, and operational inefficiencies. Understanding these mistakes is essential for staying competitive and keeping your reputation undamaged.

Let’s break down thirteen of the most common ones…

13 Common Drayage Mistakes to Avoid

1. Asking for “All In” Rate

Carriers absolutely hate this and it is frowned upon to even provide all-in rates. It’s difficult to calculate a flat rate for drayage because of the multitude of accessorial fees that occur and all the nuances involved.

If you ask a carrier for an all-in rate, you are likely to lose carriers or get overcharged to protect their profit margin.

2. Insufficient Attention to Export Bookings

Here’s a major mistake that can easily be avoided. You set up an export booking with a steamship a week or two in advance, but you don’t regularly check the steamship site to verify the booking hasn’t been rolled (postponed or delayed departure or transit date).

Often, the booking gets rolled, and by then a drayman has already picked up an empty box and loaded it. But when they go to the rail ramp or port to return, they are rejected and told the booking was rolled and that the “earliest return date” of the box has been pushed back.

Now you have to pay for a dry run to the port, along with daily chassis and storage fees.

3. Misconceptions About Prepull Fees

A prepull is when a carrier picks up a container from the port and stores it overnight at the carrier’s yard instead of immediately delivering it. A prepull is necessary to avoid demurrage fees charged at the port after the drop-off appointment if a container is picked up late.

Keep in mind, however, that scheduling a prepull doesn’t mean you aren’t paying anything. While prepull fees are lower than demurrage fees, there is a way to avoid them altogether. You aren’t charged for prepull if the trucker cannot pick up and load your freight on the same day.

So the best way to avoid prepull fees is to ensure the receiving warehouse can receive your freight without an appointment.

4. Poor Communication and Coordination

Lack of communication results in poor coordination among shippers, carriers, and third-party logistics (3PL) providers leading to missed appointments, delays, or misrouted shipments.

These all come with significant costs.

5. Incorrect or Incomplete Documentation

Missing, incorrect, or incomplete shipping documentation (e.g., bills of lading, import/export paperwork, customs documents) can cause delays and potential fines.

6. Underestimating Port and Terminal Congestion

Failing to account for congestion at ports or terminals, especially during peak seasons or global events like pandemics or strikes, can cause significant delays.

7. Failure to Properly Plan for Drayage Costs

No one likes surprises, especially when it comes to costs you didn’t figure on. Not factoring in all potential drayage-related costs—such as terminal handling fees, fuel surcharges, and detention or demurrage charges for holding containers too long—is a source of that kind of unpleasant surprise.

8. Inadequate Container Management

Improper management of the return of empty containers or failure to track container inventory can result in additional costs and delays.

9. Insufficient Equipment Availability

Never assume that there is always enough equipment (e.g., trucks, chassis) available at the port when needed. If the drayage carrier hasn’t confirmed equipment availability in advance, you could open to delays when equipment shortages occur.

10. Overlooking Local Regulations

Failing to understand and comply with local regulations governing drayage operations can lead to fines and delays. You need to stay informed of specific local requirements such as weight restrictions, driver qualifications, and environmental and emissions policies.

11. Misjudging Delivery Windows

Realistic delivery windows include a buffer time between appointments. Inaccurate and unrealistic delivery estimates cause delays, missed windows, and additional fees for rescheduling.

12. Inefficient Route Planning

Inefficient routes can lead to unnecessary delays, increased fuel costs, and missed deadlines. The lack of a backup contingency plan in place in case of unexpected delays and disruptions (e.g., truck breakdowns, traffic issues, port delays) is another costly pitfall. Contingency plans in place for unforeseen disruptions.

13. Lack of Strategic Carrier Partnerships

Relying on a one-size-fits-all drayage service can result in suboptimal performance, especially when you don’t align the specific needs of the shipment with the right carrier. However, developing such relationships is easier said than done.

Have some questions? Review our frequently asked questions page or contact us directly.