Port trucking

But still seem decent. But I don't know jack about container hauling

 

As mentioned earlier, those are one way rates. Also, the biggest factor here is that's not YOUR rate because you'll be leased on and your carrier will keep a percentage of that total number. You'll never know what the true number is and if you trust them, you're making a mistake.

Another factor here is...TIME. The ports do not care about your time at all. They think nothing of you. If your run should take 2 days round trip then plan on it taking 3 due to the ports because you'll have to return the empty container after you deliver. At least Norfolk isn't being strangled to death by a parasitic Union and their BS non-strike "slowdowns" but it's still a massive time siv.

Plan on getting hit regularly by loser drivers too. A large percentage of them are first generation immigrants that drive like they're still in their home countries. Wreckless, careless and straight up stupid as how 85 percent of the drive.

One last consideration is DOT. They literally have days where they focus specifically on container trucks. Be prepared to pay fines for things you cannot control. Chassis are a great example. You'll be using the steamship chassis and they don't take care of them.

Sure, they'll tell you to have anything serviced at the repair area of the port before you leave but that will add tons of extra revenue draining time to your trip. Don't even get me started on the BS bias ply tires that will pop on you on the road. Guess what? They'll do their best to make you pay for it too.

 

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Why empty return? Empty container looks an awful lot like a dry van to me, load it.

 

The container needs to be returned to the steamship line yard for the next trip overseas. Some intermodal trucking companies try to make arrangements with exporters near the area they are unloading the import container to minimize deadheading, like in this website: Norfolk Intermodal Equipment Matching

 

What he said. OP have you ever been to a port around opening time and saw the line to get in well over a mile long? I deliver across from port Newark all the time and it's a mad house. I thank God all the time i don't have to go in there Lol.

This was taken about 7am. What you can't see is the line to get in the port goes about another 3/4 mile up the road and almost a mile back down the road

 

I've be en involved in port trucking since 2003 and can say that the companies involved have already figured out every possible way to skin the cat.

Some of the carriers evolved from the remains of the former steamship 'captive' truckers who were shed years ago from the steamship lines so many retained some of the former ops and safety professionals joined with outside capitol and companies were re-born serving multiple lines BUT still WELL connected to their former employers.

The first carrier was one of those I described above; in 2005 it was $1.00/mile - loaded and $0.85 - empty BUT there were a group of guys running between the seaports and interior rail towns, chicago, cleveland, columbus and they had the ability to accept the empty and turn the guy around with an export back to the seaports, Newark, Baltimore, Norfolk/Portsmouth always running at the loaded rate. They grew from there.

Now I'm retireing from a carrier that only does local. Customer service to the max using some of the company guys and switchers plus a bunch of port operators turning 2 or 3 trips a day looking for a 4th when the sun, stars and moon align...

Think of any other possible way and someone already has that cat skinned and nailed to the shed door. Chassis are getting better in some cases, we leased around 500 new milestones over the past 4 years and so have our competitors and the former pier chassis are being refurbed with LED lights and Radials.

Find a niche you can live with and prosper and you will make money. Problem is finding your place to fit in...

Get a day cab volvo or 'shaker and mount a moose rack on the front and get several cameras looking out to get the guy who hit you...video makes the carriers pay up quickly...Good luck

 

Ever seen Broening Highway outside Seagirt around 1pm? It's often backed up for miles all the way back to Keith Ave. Horrible. And if you are ever inside and need immediate medical attention...you will die. It's physically impossible for the ambulance to get to you due to the literal nuts to butts trucks with nowhere to move out of the way. This also applies if you need to leave for an emergency. It's just not possible. The entire show is only a small fire away from a mass death situation.

 

Ports aren't for everyone, you need nerves of steel and extreme amount of self control with everyone from port workers to fellow drivers, I've done it for two years in NJ/NY port terminals, and I have been to major ports in the country as far as LA's Fenix Marine terminal in San Pedro, CA, been to Packer terminal in Philly, Seagirt terminal in Baltimore, and a bunch of times I picked and dropped containers in Norfolk and Portsmuth's NIT and VIG.

From my experience each port is different in how they operate, and some are better and easier than others, but they all share the same landscape of old beat up trucks and reckless drivers, I liked VA ports compared to NJ/NY or CA, but then again these are massive ports compared to Virginia's, Seagirt was a mad hole even though it's a small terminal, the place is poorly managed.

And to answer you question, since you said you want to run with your own authority, I need to ask you how long you've had it for? if you have it already then you already have Auto liability and Cargo, port insurance requirement are a bit more than your average trucking company's coverages, on top of the usual Auto liability and Cargo, ports require 1M General Liability and Trailer Interchange coverage limit from 15k to 30k depending on which steamship lines and chassis pools you want to work with, each has their own requirement of coverage limits for their equipment, Virginia ports authority takes it a step further and requires Worker's comp coverage, and CSX takes it even further than that and requires something called Carrier's liability insurance, and some steamship lines and equipment providers like chassis pools and Genset pools require to be listed as additional insured on policies, trucks need to be registered with every terminal that you intend to service and I mean every terminal in the same port, each truck need to have a RFID transporder issued by the port authority, as for drivers they need to have a TWIC card, NJ/NY ports take it a step further and require something called a Sealink card, also drivers need to be registered in the national database of drayage drivers.
Then after all the above is satisfied, you have to contact each equipment provider and steamship line to ask them to flag you as an approved carrier in national database ie containers, chassis, gensets etc, otherwise the ports won't release any equipment to you, and some of the steamship lines have additional requirement which they will tell you when you contact them, EVERGREEN for example wants a notarized 6 page agreement which outlines all their requirements, fees, liability limits, hold harmless, and so on.

Now to the operating side, you'll start hearing a lot of unfamiliar words which will sound to you like hearing another language, like "Demurrage, Dry run, Pre pull, Dunnage, Per Diem, and so on, it's a whole vocabulary of terms that you'll hear on daily basis, and I mean DAILY basis because get ready to be on the phone emails all day with terminals, ship lines, customers, for everything from trouble tickets at the gates to figuring out where to return an empty, to damaged box reports and returns, to customer's exceeding the drop time limit, to brokers blowing up your phone wanting you to move a container out of a terminal ASAP because the port will rape them with DEMURRAGE fees if it's not out of there by end of the day, to everything else in between.

regular freight involves just a shipper, receiver and a broker, or in case of direct customers a shipper, receiver, and carrier, drayage involves on top of that the steamship line, the terminal, chassis pool, and in case of reefers; a Genset pool.

 

Most steamship lines also require a minimum amount of trucks per fleet to work with them too. I've never heard of them dealing with a single truck company. Maybe they'll be more lenient right now but I doubt it.