---
title: "Drayage"
description: "Drayage is the transportation of a full ocean container via truck. A full container is loaded onto a chassis and trucked to a nearby warehouse or rail ramp."
language: en
canonical: https://www.flexport.com/glossary/drayage/
lifecycle: live
dateModified: 2026-10-08T14:58:14Z
topics:
  - "Trucking"
---

# Drayage

Drayage is the transportation of a full ocean container via truck. A full container is loaded onto a chassis and trucked to a nearby warehouse or rail ramp.

## What is drayage?

Drayage is the transportation of a full ocean container via truck. A full container will be loaded onto a chassis and trucked to a nearby warehouse or rail ramp.

Drayage may incur a [drayage base fee](https://www.flexport.com/help/drayage-base-fee/).

If the destination is not local, the full container will need to be [transloaded](https://www.flexport.com/glossary/transloading/) into an FTL.

## How does drayage work?

A drayage trucker picks up a loaded container at an ocean port or rail ramp and hauls it a short distance, usually within the same metro area, to a warehouse. The trucker then either waits while the container is unloaded or leaves it for later pickup. The empty container goes back to the port or a designated depot.

## What can affect drayage costs?

Chassis availability, port congestion, waiting time, and distance all play a part. Depending on the port and carrier, you may also see charges such as chassis fees or per diem when a container stays out longer than the free time allows.

Back to the [full glossary](https://www.flexport.com/glossary/).

---

*This is a markdown version of [https://www.flexport.com/glossary/drayage/](https://www.flexport.com/glossary/drayage/) for AI/LLM consumption.*