What is Drayage and How Does it Impact Shipping?

Transport is a term used in the maritime transport and logistics industry to refer to the process of transporting goods over short distances. It is generally limited to its use in the container transport industry, as it is an essential step in intermodal transport. Hauling, on the other hand, is the overland transport of goods a short distance from a truck terminal to a railway terminal, warehouse, or other storage facility. These goods are then distributed by road to local stores where retail customers can purchase them.

In a nutshell, transportation consists of sending cargo over a short distance, usually from one shipping method to another. For example, if goods arrive in Jacksonville through the port and need to be transported from the port to a warehouse, that's where drayage comes in. The term drayage comes from the old days when goods were transported in horse-drawn carts without sides. The basic definition of transport means the transfer of goods over short distances.

Since the first deliveries of large quantities of products were shipped, they still needed to reach the final destination point. When horses and strollers were the main means of transportation, delivery services attached transport carts to their wagons. Over time, these cars would be replaced by trucks and would become global logistics companies. This united global trade, as international buyers and sellers could trust that their products would arrive on time where they needed to be.

Transportation services refer to vehicles, such as trucks, that transport goods over short distances, from port to warehouse, from warehouse to distribution centers and stores. The total transport speed will depend on the number of short trips the container needs. Ultimately, it's the shipper who decides what type of transportation works best for their cargo. Container transport refers to the movement of goods in containers over short distances, generally in the same city, between different ports, warehouses, railway yards and transportation hubs. Transport operators move shipping containers across highways between hubs, railway terminals, seaports, or warehouses. In short, transport services help to carry cargo from one mode of transport to another by road, and their function is to ensure safe delivery in intermodal transport.

Transport trucks transport containers and bulk cargo between port and intermodal railway facilities, distribution centers, and other locations. It is also transport when the merchandise goes the other way, from a warehouse to a port or to any other place within short distance accessible by road. A transport truck moves cargo between different locations, including container ships, storage lots, order fulfillment warehouses, and railway shipyards. Ferry transport is useful for overcoming problems associated with congestion in terminals or transportation hubs. Now that you understand what drayage is and how it impacts shipping operations, you may have found ways to optimize some of your company's operations. It could have been that when these products were sitting or waiting and the phrase “drey zikh” was used, the service that solved this problem was coined “transport”.

In the early 1900s, many “transport cars” were manned by Jewish street vendors of Eastern European origin whose native language was Yiddish.

Lynette Cariño
Lynette Cariño

Total tv fanatic. Extreme explorer. General travel evangelist. Incurable student. Freelance music nerd. Typical beer lover.