Freight Glossary
Drayage
Drayage is the short-distance trucking of freight, typically containers, between ports, rail yards, and nearby warehouses or distribution centers. It bridges ocean or intermodal shipments to their next inland leg. For example, a 40 foot container arriving at the Port of Los Angeles might dray 15 miles to a cross-dock in Compton before pallets are sorted for regional delivery.
Why it matters
Drayage delays at ports and rail ramps can cascade into missed distribution deadlines. Slow dray moves tie up containers and rack up demurrage charges faster than almost any other freight activity. A single day of port demurrage can cost $150 to $300 per container, making reliable dray execution a direct lever on landed cost.
When to use it
Use drayage planning when you are importing containers through a port or intermodal facility and need to move goods to a nearby DC or cross-dock before onward distribution. This is especially critical during peak import seasons when chassis shortages and port congestion can extend dray lead times from hours to days.
How Warp thinks about it
Warp operates middle-mile lanes that often pick up directly from dray-adjacent cross-docks, letting shippers hand off containers from dray and immediately move pallets to regional DCs or stores without re-warehousing. With 50+ cross-docks near major port markets, Warp provides a natural next step for freight coming off dray.