Two carriers quote the same lane. One says $500. One says $425. The second is not cheaper — it is structured differently, and which one actually costs you less depends on facts neither quote mentions.

Drayage pricing comes in a handful of structures. Each one distributes risk differently between you and the carrier, and each one quietly rewards certain behaviors. Knowing which model you are buying is the difference between comparing prices and comparing invoices.

The four common structures

Flat rate per container, by lane

A fixed price for a defined move: this terminal to this delivery address. The most common structure in port drayage, and the easiest to budget.

What it rewards: predictability. If your moves are routine and your receiving is efficient, a flat rate is clean.

Where it hurts: the flat rate covers the move, not the exceptions. Chassis splits, detention, dry runs, storage and fuel typically sit outside it. A low flat rate with aggressive accessorials can easily exceed a higher flat rate with generous inclusions. Our guide to drayage accessorial charges covers what usually sits outside the base.

Zone-based

The metro area is divided into zones by distance or difficulty, with a rate per zone. Common for carriers serving a defined region.

What it rewards: transparency across many delivery points. You can quote your own customers without calling for a rate each time.

Where it hurts: zone boundaries are blunt. A delivery just over a line pays the higher zone even if it is barely further. Our Miami drayage delivery zones page shows how this maps in South Florida.

Hourly

You pay for the truck and driver by time, usually with a minimum.

What it rewards: unusual work. Multi-stop deliveries, uncertain unload times, project cargo, or moves where nobody can define the scope in advance.

Where it hurts: you absorb all the delay risk. A three-hour terminal queue is on your invoice. For routine port-to-warehouse moves, hourly transfers risk to the party with the least control over it — which is you.

All-in / bundled

One number covering the move plus a defined set of accessorials — often chassis, fuel and a set amount of free time at the delivery.

What it rewards: budgeting and invoice simplicity. Fewer disputes, fewer surprises.

Where it hurts: the carrier prices the risk into the number, so the headline rate looks higher. If your operation is genuinely clean and fast, you may be paying for exceptions you never generate.

The comparison that actually matters

Headline rate comparisons are close to meaningless without the surrounding terms. Before comparing two quotes, establish for each:

• Is fuel included, or is there a separate surcharge and on what basis? See drayage fuel surcharges explained.
• Is chassis usage included? What about splits or flips?
• How much free time at the delivery before detention starts, and at what rate afterward?
• What happens on a dry run?
• Is the empty return included, or billed separately?
• Overweight, residential, after-hours, hazmat — what triggers a premium?
• What are the payment terms? Covered in our guide to drayage payment terms and credit applications.

A useful exercise: take last quarter’s actual containers and price them under each proposed structure using what really happened — the real detention, the real splits, the real dry runs. Carriers rarely object to this, and it is far more informative than comparing base rates.

Matching the model to your freight

High-volume, repeatable lanes into a well-run warehouse: flat rate per lane, with tight accessorial definitions. You have the predictability to make it work in your favour.

Many delivery points across a metro area: zone-based, so you can quote and plan without constant rate requests.

Project cargo, multi-stop, or genuinely unpredictable unloads: hourly, because no flat rate can be written honestly for work nobody can scope.

Small volumes or finance teams that hate variance: all-in, and accept the premium as the price of a clean invoice.

Mixed operations: most realistic. Flat rates on your core lanes, hourly for the odd jobs, and clear accessorial terms covering both.

Spot versus contract sits on top of all of this

Billing model and commercial structure are separate questions. You can have a flat rate quoted spot, or an all-in rate under an annual agreement. Our comparison of contract versus spot drayage rates covers when committing volume is worth it — and when it is not.

Why asset-based carriers quote differently

A carrier that owns its trucks and chassis knows its own costs and controls its own exceptions. A broker is quoting someone else’s capacity and has to build in margin for the day that capacity is expensive. This is why asset-based quotes often look less flexible on the headline number and more stable across the year.

Go Drayage runs company-owned equipment from a 5-acre Miami yard, which also means storage and transloading can be priced into the same relationship rather than sourced separately. If you want a quote structured against your actual container pattern rather than a generic rate sheet, use our drayage calculator or contact the team.

Frequently asked questions

Is an all-in drayage rate always more expensive? On the headline number, usually — the carrier is absorbing risk you would otherwise carry. Whether it is more expensive in total depends on how often your moves generate accessorials. Operations with frequent detention, splits or dry runs often pay less all-in; very clean operations usually pay more.

When does hourly drayage pricing make sense? When the scope genuinely cannot be defined in advance: multi-stop deliveries, project or oversized cargo, unloads of unknown duration, or jobs where the truck is essentially on standby. For standard port-to-door container moves, a flat or zone rate almost always serves the shipper better.

How do I compare two drayage quotes fairly? Re-price a real historical month under both structures, including what actually happened — detention, chassis splits, dry runs, storage. Comparing base rates alone tells you very little, because the base rate is only the portion of the cost both carriers agreed to show you.