Understand how drayage occurs in the United States and the different modes of unloading.

Drayage is characterized by the transport of merchandise in containers, both from the port to   the importer, and from the exporter to the port.

With regards to exporting the cargo via ocean operation, a shipment coordinator first structures the drayage process. Then, the cargo carrier is driven to remove the empty container in the port and transport it to the exporter’s location.

When utilizing drayage, loading the container may occur under the following conditions:

Drop and pick:

The carrier leaves the container in the exporter, which is responsible for loading the container. The length at which the container remains at the hand of the exporter is previously agreed upon, and when the carrier returns to the exporter’s location, the container is ready to proceed to the port of departure

Live Load:

The carrier will wait in the exporter’s own warehouse until it loads the container. Once the operation is finished, it will proceed to the port of departure. If the customer chooses live load, the driver will wait on the exporter to load the container for the amount of time previously agreed upon. Usually, carriers take about 1 to 2 hours to complete this operation, however, an additional charge may be added if time is exceeded.

Drayage operations remain the same when dealing with cargo importation. The cargo can either be removed from the containers at the port of arrival or the carrier can leave the container to be unloaded, later returning to withdraw the empty container and re-deliver it to the port.