Free days tracked, not assumed
We know your last free day and we work backward from it. Demurrage and per diem are avoidable costs, and most of them come from nobody watching a date.
Drayage and Intermodal
Drayage and intermodal, moved before the clock runs.
Drayage is a short move with expensive consequences. Free days expire, chassis go missing, and appointments at the terminal are the real bottleneck. We manage the clock, not just the truck.
At a glance
The specs that set the rate.
These four details decide the equipment, the carrier and the number. Have them ready and your quote comes back faster.
- Equipment
- 20, 40 and 45 ft containers, chassis, tri axle where required
- Ports and ramps
- Houston and Gulf ports, plus major inland rail ramps nationwide
- Best for
- Import and export containers, transloading, long haul cost reduction
- Watch items
- Demurrage, per diem, chassis availability, terminal appointments
How we run it
What Verve does differently here.
Chassis sorted in advance
Chassis shortages strand containers. We confirm the chassis plan before the appointment rather than at the gate.
Transload when it pays
Moving an ocean container's contents into a 53 foot domestic trailer can cut the long haul cost noticeably. We run the numbers both ways.
Intermodal where the schedule allows
Rail can save meaningful money over 700 miles. It also adds days. We only put freight on rail when the delivery date can absorb it.
Drayage and Intermodal FAQ
Questions about drayage and intermodal.
The short haul truck move of an ocean or rail container, typically from a port or rail ramp to a nearby warehouse and back. Distances are short but the schedule is dictated by terminal appointments and free time, not by driving time.
Demurrage is charged by the terminal when a container sits at the port past its free days. Per diem is charged by the ocean carrier when you keep the container past the allowed time after it leaves the port. Both accrue daily and both are avoidable with a plan.
Usually yes over about 700 miles, sometimes by a wide margin. It costs you time. Intermodal typically adds one to three days versus over the road, and it adds two drayage moves at each end. It works well for freight with schedule flexibility.
Moving cargo out of a 20 or 40 foot ocean container into a 53 foot domestic trailer. Three 40 foot containers usually consolidate into two 53 foot trailers, which reduces the number of long haul moves and avoids per diem on the ocean equipment.
Also available
Other freight services.
Full Truckload
One shipper, one trailer, one direct run. The fastest and least handled way to move a full load anywhere in the lower 48.
LTL and Partial
Anything from one pallet to a half trailer, priced so you pay for the space you use instead of the space you do not.
Refrigerated
Temperature controlled freight with continuous monitoring, documented setpoints, and carriers who understand a cold chain.
Flatbed and Open Deck
Steel, lumber, machinery and anything that will not fit through a dock door. Secured, tarped, and permitted when it needs to be.
Expedited and Hot Shot
When a line is down or a job site is waiting, a dedicated truck leaves now and drives straight through.
Have a container sitting on free days?
Send the lane, the dates and the freight details. Most quotes go back the same business day.