What is drayage in trucking
Drayage is short-haul trucking of freight containers. The EPA describes drayage trucks as heavy-duty Class 8 trucks that move containers and bulk freight between ports, intermodal rail facilities, distribution centers and other near-port locations.
The word is old. "Dray" goes back to the Middle English draie, from the Old English dragan, "to draw." A dray was first a cart that had to be dragged.
By the 1580s, a dray meant a low, strong cart with no sides, built for heavy loads. Today the cart is a chassis and the horse is your tractor. The job is the same: move heavy freight a short distance.
Intermodal vs drayage and how they fit
Intermodal is the whole trip. Federal law describes intermodal transportation as moving a loaded container or trailer from origin to destination by more than one mode, under one bill of lading or several.
Drayage is the truck part of that trip. A container may cross the ocean on a ship and ride a train inland, but a truck still has to pull it out of the terminal and back it into the customer's dock.
So when someone asks what an intermodal truck driver does, the short answer is drayage. You haul the box on the first or last miles, and sometimes between two terminals in the middle.
| Compared on | Intermodal | Drayage |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Moving a loaded container or trailer from origin to destination by more than one mode, under one bill of lading or several | The truck move of a container to or from a port, rail ramp, distribution center or other near-port site |
| Modes | Ship, rail and truck | Truck only |
| Distance | The whole trip, often across an ocean or the country | Short-haul, usually within one metro area |
| Equipment | Containers on ships and rail cars, and on chassis over the road | A Class 8 tractor pulling a container on a chassis |
| Where a truck driver fits | On the first and last miles, and between terminals | That is the job: every move is a drayage move |
Intermodal is the full trip by more than one mode. Drayage is the truck move at either end, or between terminals.
Types of drayage: port, rail ramp and cross-town moves
Drayage moves come in three kinds. Many drivers run a mix of them in the same week, depending on where the freight sits.
- Port drayage. You pull containers between a marine terminal and a customer, warehouse or rail ramp. At Portland's Oregon Container Terminal, that covers full import pickups, export deliveries, and empty container and chassis moves.
- Rail ramp drayage. You take containers to and from a railroad intermodal facility. Railroads publish ramp hours and free time. BNSF's Portland Intermodal Facility is open 24/7, and so is Union Pacific's Portland (Brooklyn) ramp.
- Cross-town moves. You shuttle a box from one facility to another, such as port to rail ramp or one ramp to another. The container changes modes without stopping at a customer.
Drayage happens wherever ships and trains meet trucks. For port examples, see owner operator jobs in Savannah, GA, drayage work around Baltimore, MD, port drayage in Norfolk, VA, Elizabeth, NJ owner operator openings and local work in Kearny, NJ. Each city page lists the terminal Eagle runs there and its current openings.
Out west, owner operator jobs in Portland, OR put you near a container terminal and two railroad ramps.
How an import drayage move works step by step
Here is a typical import move, based on the trucker guide for Oregon Container Terminal. Details change from terminal to terminal, so read the guide for each one you serve.
- The ship discharges the container at the marine terminal.
- The box gets released. It must be freight-released and customs-released before anyone can pick it up.
- You check in at the in-gate. At an OCR pedestal, you give the trucking company's SCAC, your plate and the container number. The trucking company must be authorized by the steamship line and enrolled in the UIIA.
- The container goes on your chassis. You lock or strap it in the out-gate staging area, where the terminal does its inspection.
- You deliver to the customer, warehouse or distribution center.
- You return the empty to the terminal or a designated depot. It must be clean, with old hazmat placards removed, and it must match the steamship line's information.
An export move runs the other way. You pick up an empty container, take it to the shipper to be loaded, then deliver the loaded box to the marine terminal or rail ramp for its ship or train.
If the box does not match what the line has on file, the terminal sends you to the trouble desk. Check the container number before you leave the customer.
Chassis and container types you will pull
A chassis is the wheeled frame used to move marine containers between ports, rail yards and cargo destinations such as warehouses. Federal rules call it intermodal equipment. An intermodal equipment provider hands it to motor carriers under a written agreement, and must register, mark, inspect and maintain it.
Many ports keep a chassis pool, a stock of chassis at or near terminals and rail yards for truckers' daily use. In a gray or interoperable pool, several providers put in chassis, and you can use any of them for any line's container. Los Angeles and Long Beach started one in March 2015.
The boxes you pull come in a handful of standard sizes and types. Know which one is on the order before you hook up.
- 20' and 40' ISO containers, in standard height or high-cube at about 9'6" tall.
- 45' high-cube containers for extra volume.
- 53' domestic containers, the U.S. domestic intermodal standard: 53 ft long, 102 in wide and 9'6" high.
- Reefers, or refrigerated containers. At Oregon Container Terminal, a reefer goes to a set yard block so the terminal can confirm its temperature.
- Open tops, offered by ocean carriers in 20' and 40' lengths.
Credentials and rules for drayage drivers
Port and rail work comes with paperwork that over-the-road drivers rarely see. The items below are how ports and the industry work, not Eagle policies.
- TWIC card. The Maritime Transportation Security Act requires a TSA-issued TWIC for unescorted access to secure areas of regulated marine facilities. It is valid for 5 years, and TSA advises applying at least 60 days ahead. The Port of Portland, for example, requires it at all of its marine terminals.
- UIIA. This is the industry's standard contract for interchanging containers and chassis between trucking companies and equipment providers such as ocean carriers and railroads. It covers procedures, liability and insurance, and it is used in about 95% of North American interchanges.
- Terminal rules. Gate hours and pickup steps differ by terminal. Oregon Container Terminal runs paperless OCR gates and an online portal. Check each terminal's own rules, including whether it books appointments, before you head there.
- Per diem and demurrage. These are charges for holding a container or equipment past its free time. Railroads and terminals set that free time, and BNSF Portland gives the day of notification plus 24 hours. Since May 28, 2024, an FMC rule has set billing rules for ocean carriers and marine terminal operators, including a 30-day deadline to issue invoices. A federal appeals court set aside one part of it in September 2025, on who may be billed; the rest stays in force.
- Overweight containers. A shipper tendering a container with more than 29,000 lb of cargo must certify the weight in writing or electronically. Federal Interstate limits are 80,000 lb gross, 20,000 lb on a single axle and 34,000 lb on a tandem. States set their own rules and permits off the Interstate, so know your tractor and chassis light weights.
Why drayage is local and home daily
Drayage is short-haul by nature. Ports, rail ramps and the distribution centers they feed sit in the same metro, so your miles stay close to home.
Terminal hours shape the day. Oregon Container Terminal's truck gates run Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., while the UP and BNSF ramps in Portland are open 24/7. Your schedule follows the gates you serve.
With Eagle, local runs start and end near home, and there is no forced dispatch. You choose the loads and build the week around your business.
How to start in drayage with Eagle
Eagle leases on owner operators for local intermodal freight. You keep your own truck, run port and rail drayage near home, and gross $3,000–$5,000 a week, paid every week by direct deposit.
Start with the owner operator requirements: you need a valid Class A CDL; 2 years of verifiable tractor-trailer experience, or 1 year plus a certified trucking school certificate; your own commercial motor vehicle; a truck that is model year 2000 or newer, or ELD compliant; and age 21 or older. You must also meet Eagle's safety and qualification standards. Then read what leasing on with Eagle includes and how owner operator pay and weekly settlements work.
When you are ready, find your terminal on the local intermodal owner operator jobs map and send the Quick App.
- Fuel card with nationwide discounts.
- Plate and registration program and an IFTA fuel tax program.
- Low-cost insurance premiums for leased-on operators.
- Easy-to-install ELD, front-facing dash cameras and a mobile dispatching app.
- Clean inspection bonuses for clean roadside inspections.
Gross revenue before fuel, insurance and truck expenses. Not a guarantee; actual earnings vary by loads, lane and costs.
Sources (16)
- EPA — Drayage Truck Best Practices to Improve Air Quality
- Etymonline — dray
- TSA — TWIC
- IANA — UIIA
- Oregon Container Terminal — Guide to OCT T-6 (trucker brochure, PDF)
- Oregon Container Terminal
- 49 U.S.C. § 5902 (Cornell LII)
- FHWA — Freight size & weight overview
- BNSF — Facility Listings
- Union Pacific — Intermodal Terminals (PDF)
- Federal Register — Requirements for Intermodal Equipment Providers and Motor Carriers (Dec 17, 2008)
- FreightWaves — 'Gray' chassis pool begins operation in LA/Long Beach
- Hapag-Lloyd — Container Specification (PDF)
- Port of Portland — Marine Security
- FMC — Final rule on demurrage & detention cleared to take full effect May 28
- FMC — U.S. Court of Appeals issues decision on D&D billing practices