Cargo containers need to be transported from one location to another, and the fancy term for this is “container drayage,” also known as intermodal freight transport.
When Are Container Drayage Services Optimal?
Why would a company utilize container drayage services? Well, they’ve got items that need to be moved and they would like the cargo to only be handled at the point of origin. Furthermore, there’s no handling during the shipping process, and little or no damage either. Specialized containers can be used to handle different types of cargo, and there’s flexibility regarding transportation methods, which could include trucks, trains, barges, ships or airplanes. For companies who want items transported quickly and efficiently, with little or no risk of theft, container drayage services make sense.
Can these types of services be expensive? Perhaps. For instance, there could be “dock dues” to pay at a port. And what about timeliness? You never know if weather or a workers’ strike could cause delivery delays. That said, container drayage services easily meet the needs and expectations of the majority of customers most of the time.
Streamlined Logistics
Drayage may use more than one mode of transportation, yet you still get streamlined logistics. A product could leave the manufacturer on a truck. Then it gets stored in a warehouse. When it’s ordered, a truck takes it to the nearby seaport. It’s put on a ship and crosses the ocean. It’s received at a port, where it’s loaded on a train, taken to a different warehouse, and then a truck picks it up and delivers it to the customer’s doorstep.
Different modes of transportation have different costs involved. For instance, it might be cheaper to involve trucking and train companies compared to ships and airplanes. Oftentimes, the cost is determined by how fast a customer wants their item… and how far it has to travel, overall.
Affiliated Warehouse Companies can connect you with our clients who provide container drayage services. If you need help importing and exporting goods between, say, ships and railways, we can help! Our clients offer competitive pricing and availability to any port or railway in the U.S. and Canada. Find out more– call us at 732-739-2323.
