Palm Beach County importers and exporters sit in a sweet spot: close enough to PortMiami and Port Everglades to use both, and served by the smaller but efficient Port of Palm Beach for specific trade lanes. The catch is that most drayage capacity in South Florida is concentrated 40 to 70 miles south, so West Palm Beach shippers often struggle to find carriers who will commit to consistent service north of Broward County. This guide explains how container drayage works for West Palm Beach businesses and what to look for in a carrier.
How West Palm Beach fits into the South Florida port network
Three ports realistically serve Palm Beach County cargo. The Port of Palm Beach in Riviera Beach handles a focused mix, primarily Caribbean trade, sugar, and project cargo. Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale is roughly 45 miles south and offers far more container services and sailings. PortMiami, about 70 miles south, has the deepest schedule of global carrier services.
In practice, most containerized freight for West Palm Beach companies arrives at Port Everglades or PortMiami and moves north by truck. That makes your drayage carrier the critical link: the port-to-door leg determines whether you pay demurrage, how fast product hits your shelves, and how predictable your landed cost is.
What a typical West Palm Beach drayage move looks like
Import flow
Once your container discharges and clears customs, your carrier picks it up from the terminal, runs it north on I-95 or the Turnpike, delivers to your warehouse in West Palm Beach, Riviera Beach, Jupiter, or Boynton Beach, waits for unloading (or drops the container if you have space), and returns the empty to the port or a depot. A one-hour-plus each-way run means live unloads are expensive; many Palm Beach County shippers use drop-and-hook or transloading instead.
When transloading makes more sense
If your final destination is deeper into Florida or out of state, it often pays to transload cargo near the port instead of draying the container the full distance. Go Drayage operates a 5-acre bonded yard in Miami with forklifts rated to 40,000 lb, where ocean containers can be stripped and reloaded onto domestic trailers. Learn more on our container freight station page.
What to look for in a drayage carrier serving Palm Beach County
- Asset-based capacity. Brokers reselling your load to owner-operators add margin and lose control. An asset-based carrier with company trucks can commit to recurring schedules on the West Palm Beach lane.
- UIIA interchange rights and port credentials. Every driver needs a TWIC card and the carrier needs interchange agreements to pull containers at PortMiami and Port Everglades.
- Storage options. When your dock is full, a secured yard near the port lets you buffer containers and avoid last free day penalties. See our yard storage service.
- Real-time tracking. A 70-mile leg with Florida traffic needs live visibility, not a phone call at 5 p.m.
Pricing: what drives West Palm Beach drayage rates
Expect the line-haul portion to reflect round-trip mileage from the port. From Port Everglades to central Palm Beach County, rates typically run higher than the intra-Broward base rate; from PortMiami higher still. Accessorials — chassis rental days, congestion surcharges, driver detention beyond free time, and overweight or hazmat handling — are where invoices grow. Ask for an all-in quote with accessorials spelled out. You can get an instant estimate with our drayage calculator.
Why shippers pair Palm Beach deliveries with a Miami yard
Vessel schedules rarely match warehouse schedules. By staging containers at a secure yard near the port, you pull them from the terminal before free time expires, then deliver to Palm Beach County exactly when your dock crew is ready. That single change eliminates most demurrage and detention exposure on this lane and smooths labor planning at your facility.
Frequently asked questions
Do you provide drayage from PortMiami and Port Everglades to West Palm Beach?
Yes. Go Drayage runs daily service from both ports throughout Palm Beach County, including West Palm Beach, Riviera Beach, Lake Worth, Boynton Beach, and Jupiter, backed by company-owned trucks and 24/7 dispatch.
Is it cheaper to route my cargo through the Port of Palm Beach?
Only if your steamship line calls there. Most global container services call PortMiami or Port Everglades, and trucking the container north is usually faster and cheaper than waiting for a niche routing.
Can you store containers if my warehouse isn’t ready?
Yes. Our Miami yard holds up to 450 containers with 24/7 secured access, so you can pull containers off the terminal before demurrage starts and schedule delivery when it suits your team.