Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale is one of Florida’s busiest container gateways, serving Broward County’s warehouse corridor and the Caribbean trade lanes. If you’re importing through it for the first time — or you’ve been importing but never seen the mechanics — this is the sequence your container follows from ship to door, and where each day of delay tends to hide.

Step 1: Vessel arrival and discharge

Your ocean carrier publishes an estimated arrival, but the date that matters is actual discharge — when the crane lifts your container off the vessel. Container terminals at Port Everglades sit directly off I-595 and I-95, which is part of why drays from this port are efficient once the box is released. Discharge can trail vessel arrival by hours or a day depending on stowage and berth traffic.

Step 2: Availability — the box isn’t ready when it lands

After discharge, the container must be moved to the yard stack, released by the ocean carrier (freight charges paid), and cleared of any holds before the terminal shows it as available. Customs holds, carrier holds, and terminal holds each block pickup independently. The free-time clock, however, usually starts at availability — so every hold that lingers eats pickup days.

Step 3: Customs clearance

Your customs broker files the entry, ideally before the vessel arrives. Most entries release quickly; a minority draw document reviews or exams. If CBP orders an intensive exam, the container moves to an exam station and the timeline extends — this is out of everyone’s control, but a carrier who works these flows daily keeps the handoffs tight. In-bond cargo can move to a bonded facility without entry via a bonded carrier like Go Drayage (CBP bond #LBR8).

Step 4: The dray

Once the container is available and released, your drayage carrier schedules the pickup — at Port Everglades that means a credentialed driver (TWIC), an interchange under UIIA rules, and a chassis. From outgate, typical Broward deliveries run inside an hour; Miami-Dade deliveries are commonly same-day. Our trucks serve both Port Everglades and PortMiami daily from a yard positioned between the two.

Step 5: Delivery, unloading, and the empty return

After unloading at your facility, the empty container has its own deadline: the ocean carrier’s free days. Empty return locations at Port Everglades change with carrier instructions, and restricted-return weeks are common. If your dock can’t unload in time, two proven alternatives keep you off the per diem meter: staging the loaded box in secure yard storage, or transloading the cargo at a container freight station so the empty goes straight back.

Where the days get lost

• Entry filed late — clearance should race the vessel, not follow it.
• Freight charges unpaid — a carrier hold is the most preventable delay in the chain.
• Pickup booked at the Last Free Day — leaves zero slack for appointment scarcity.
• No plan for the empty — the return is half the move; treat it that way.

Frequently asked questions

How many free days do import containers get at Port Everglades?

Free time is set by terminal tariff and carrier agreement — commonly around four working days, but verify per shipment. The count typically runs from container availability, not vessel arrival.

Can one carrier handle both Port Everglades and PortMiami pickups?

Yes, and it simplifies South Florida imports considerably. Our yard sits between the ports, so split arrivals can consolidate to a single staging point before delivery.

What’s the difference between a terminal hold and a customs hold?

A customs hold is placed by CBP and clears through your broker; terminal and carrier holds involve fees or logistics (unpaid charges, stack position). Each must clear separately before pickup — checking only one is how “available” containers turn out not to be.

Importing through Port Everglades? Get a drayage quote or call (786) 445-0150 — same-day coverage across Broward and Miami-Dade.