Drayage is the inland transport of a container over a short or medium distance, between a port terminal and a point on land: a warehouse, a plant, an empty container yard or another terminal. It is the link between the ocean voyage and your operation. In Guatemala it is also known as acarreo de contenedores or flete de contenedor.
The term is used across international trade to set this move apart from general freight: drayage doesn’t move loose goods, it moves the whole container, on a chassis or container trailer pulled by a tractor unit.
Why it is a specialized service
Moving a container looks simple, but the inland leg depends on several parties at once:
- The port terminal, which assigns appointments to pick up or deliver containers.
- The shipping line, which owns the container and sets the free days and the yard where the empty is returned.
- Customs and the customs broker, who release the goods before the container can leave the port.
- Your warehouse or plant, which needs to be ready to receive, unload or load.
Coordinating those pieces on time is what prevents waiting at the port and extra charges.
How it works for imports
- Release. The shipping line and customs release the container. This step is handled by you and your customs broker.
- Terminal appointment. The appointment to pick up the container is booked.
- Port pickup. The container leaves Puerto Quetzal, Santo Tomás de Castilla or Puerto Barrios.
- Delivery. It is hauled to your warehouse, plant or delivery point for unloading.
- Empty return. The empty container goes back to the yard designated by the shipping line.
How it works for exports
- Booking. The shipping line confirms space on the vessel and the cargo cutoff date.
- Empty pickup. An empty container is picked up at the shipping line’s yard.
- Loading at your plant. The container arrives at your plant or warehouse to be loaded.
- Terminal appointment. The gate-in appointment at the export terminal is booked.
- Terminal delivery. The loaded container enters the terminal before the vessel cutoff.
What drayage does not include
Drayage moves the container; it does not replace other services in the chain. Tariff classification, the goods declaration and payment of duties are the responsibility of the importer or exporter and their customs broker. Shipping line charges (such as demurrage) and terminal charges (such as storage) are billed separately. Knowing them helps you plan: we explain them in the guide on free days and demurrage.
What to prepare for a quote
To quote a drayage move, it helps to have on hand:
- Type of operation: import or export.
- Port: Puerto Quetzal, Santo Tomás de Castilla or Puerto Barrios.
- Origin and destination: pickup or delivery address (city, warehouse or plant).
- Equipment: 20- or 40-foot container, and how many.
- Gross weight per container, if you already know it.
- Expected date and your warehouse’s receiving window.
- Special conditions: overweight cargo or in-bond transport.
- Free days granted by the shipping line.
If any detail is not confirmed yet, mark it as pending: with the essentials we can already review the operation.