Published 8 October 2026 · Reviewed by Azzurro Operations Team
A container move is one line on an invoice and a sequence of dependencies underneath: discharge, availability, customs and freight release, the right chassis, an appointment, a receiver who can take it, and an empty returned where the line wants it. A quote is a prediction about that sequence, so the more of it you describe up front, the fewer revisions later. Everything below is information you already have or can get from your broker.
Terminal and steamship line
"Port Newark" is shorthand for a cluster of separate facilities across Port Newark and Port Elizabeth, each with its own gate hours, appointment system and turn times. Send the terminal name if you know it; the steamship line and vessel are usually enough to work it out, since lines berth at specific terminals. The line matters on its own account too: it sets the free time, the per diem terms and where the empty goes back.
Container number, size and type
The container number is how everyone else looks the box up. Without it, availability cannot be checked and nothing can be scheduled.
- Size — 20ft, 40ft, 40ft high cube, 45ft. This drives the chassis.
- Type — standard dry, refrigerated, flat rack, open top, tank. A reefer needs a genset or a plug and a temperature setting; out-of-gauge equipment is a different move entirely.
- Count — how many containers, and whether they can move together or have to be staged.
For a reefer, send the required temperature in writing, in the units it is specified in. Temperature-controlled work is covered on our refrigerated and specialized cargo page.
Cargo availability and release status
This is where most delays actually live. A container generally has to clear several independent gates before anyone can pick it up:
- Discharged and available — physically off the vessel and showing as available on the terminal system.
- Customs release — the entry has been filed and the shipment released by the relevant authorities.
- Freight release — the steamship line has released the container, which normally follows payment of ocean freight and surrender of the bill of lading.
- Terminal holds — any remaining hold, which can include line, customs, or terminal-specific holds.
Azzurro arranges transportation. We do not file entries, clear customs or advise on classification, duties or admissibility — those sit with your customs broker and the relevant authorities. What we can do is tell you what a terminal is showing and move the container once it is genuinely free to move.
None of this has to be resolved before you ask for a quote — just say where it stands. "Available, customs released, waiting on freight release" is a different scheduling picture from "on the water, ETA Thursday", and both are useful.
Last free day
Last free day is the date after which the terminal begins charging demurrage. It is the most time-critical field here and the one most often left out.
Two clocks are easy to confuse. Demurrage is charged by the terminal while the loaded container sits past its free time. Per diem is charged by the steamship line for the container once it has left and not yet been returned empty. A container can stop one and start the other on the same day. Neither is a transportation charge, and both are generally excluded from a quote unless specifically included in writing.
Chassis requirements
A chassis is the wheeled frame the container rides on, and in this market it is a variable rather than a given:
- Different container sizes need different chassis configurations.
- Heavy loads need a tri-axle chassis to spread weight legally.
- Refrigerated containers may need a genset chassis where no plug is available.
- Availability of any particular type varies by day and by pool.
Tell us about any chassis preference, pool arrangement or known requirement. Otherwise we work it out from size and weight — which is why weight matters.
Weight and overweight considerations
Weight is the most common reason a quote changes after the fact. Road limits apply to the whole combination — tractor, chassis, container tare and cargo — so a load that looks unremarkable on a packing list can exceed what a standard chassis carries legally once the container's own weight is added.
Send the cargo weight and the container tare if you have it. Heavier containers may need a tri-axle chassis, specific routing or permits, all decided before dispatch rather than at the gate.
Pickup and delivery dates
Give a window rather than a single moment where you can: the earliest the container can be collected and the date the receiver needs it. A range usually produces a better rate, because the move can be planned around terminal congestion and chassis availability instead of against them. If the dates are driven by the last free day, say so.
Delivery appointments
Two separate appointment questions come up, and they are easily confused:
- Terminal appointments — many terminals require a booked slot to pull a container. These are obtained through the terminal's own system and are subject to its availability rules, which are outside any trucker's control.
- Delivery appointments — whether your receiving location requires a scheduled window, and who books it. Warehouses and distribution centres frequently do.
If the delivery site needs an appointment, tell us who books it and what notice they need. An appointment that cannot be obtained for the requested day is a common reason a delivery date moves.
Live unload or drop-and-hook
This single choice changes the structure of the quote.
- Live unload. The driver delivers and waits while the container is unloaded, then takes the empty away on the same trip. Quotes include a free time window at the door; time beyond it is charged as detention. Best when the site can unload promptly.
- Drop-and-hook. The loaded container is dropped on a chassis at your site and collected later. This reduces unloading wait time and lets the site work at its own pace, but equipment, appointment, pickup or return delays can still apply, and you hold both chassis and container while per diem runs.
Tell us which you want, and roughly how long a live unload takes. A site stripping a forty-foot container by hand is a different job from one with a forklift and a dock.
Receiving hours and site restrictions
The address alone is not enough. What decides whether the move works is what is physically there:
- Receiving hours, and any lunch or cut-off closure
- Whether there is a dock, and whether it fits a container chassis
- Whether a forklift and crew are available to strip the container
- Turning space and approach restrictions for a tractor and chassis
- Height, weight or length limits on the route in
- Whether the site is residential-scale or has limited access
Where the destination cannot take a container at all, the answer is usually a transload: strip it near the port and deliver on equipment the site can receive — see commercial final-mile and job-site delivery, a common pattern for construction material.
Empty container return
The move is not finished when the cargo is delivered. The empty goes back to a location the line will accept, which may not be the terminal it came from and can change at short notice.
Ask your line or broker where the empty returns, and whether a street turn — using it directly for an export booking instead of returning it — is possible. Street turns remove a trip and reduce per diem exposure, but the line has to approve them.
Documents and contacts
Have these ready, even if not all are needed on day one:
- Arrival notice or delivery order
- Bill of lading number and booking number
- Packing list, with weights
- Customs broker name and contact
- A site contact with a mobile number who will actually answer on delivery day
- Any reference the receiver needs on paperwork, such as a PO number
The site contact matters more than people expect: a driver at a gate with a question and nobody answering is how a delivery becomes a redelivery.
Why a drayage quote changes
In rough order of frequency:
- Weight — the load needs a tri-axle chassis or permitted routing that was not quoted.
- Detention — a live unload runs past the included free time.
- Demurrage or per diem — release or return timing pushes the container past free time. Charged by the terminal or line, not by us.
- Appointments — no slot available for the requested day.
- Dry runs — the container was not actually available, or a hold had not cleared, and the trip was wasted.
- Empty return changes — the line redirects the return to a different location.
- Chassis — the required type is not available on the requested day.
- Accessorials — overweight handling, reefer monitoring, hazardous materials, scaling or storage.
Almost all of these are predictable from the information above, which is the point of sending it up front.
The checklist, ready to copy
Paste this into an email or quote request and fill in what you know. Write "unknown" rather than leaving a blank, so nobody assumes.
Terminal:
Steamship line / vessel:
Container number(s):
Size and type (20ft / 40ft / 40ft HC / 45ft, dry / reefer / flat rack):
Reefer temperature, if applicable:
Cargo weight / container tare:
Status (on water / discharged / available / customs released / freight released / holds):
Last free day:
Earliest pickup date:
Required delivery date:
Delivery address:
Receiving hours:
Delivery appointment required, and who books it:
Dock, forklift and crew available:
Live unload or drop-and-hook:
Estimated unload time, if live:
Empty return location, if known:
Customs broker name and contact:
Site contact name and mobile:
Reference / PO number:
Send it to customercare@azzurrolog.com, use the form on our New York and New Jersey port drayage page, or call dispatch on 908-341-0893. For coverage beyond the NY/NJ gateway, see our freight service areas.
Terminal, steamship line, customs, chassis, appointment, access, equipment and scheduling requirements are confirmed per shipment and can change. Azzurro arranges transportation through qualified motor carriers and service providers; it does not operate terminals, control customs or freight release, allocate chassis, or set steamship-line rules or appointment availability.
This guide is general operational information, not customs, legal or regulatory advice.
Frequently asked questions
Why do I need the last free day before anyone can quote?
It decides whether the move is routine or has to be worked around a demurrage clock, which changes the realistic options. It also says which clock is running: demurrage is charged by the terminal while the loaded container sits on the dock, per diem by the steamship line once it has left and not yet been returned.
Does a quote cover demurrage, per diem or storage?
Generally no. Demurrage, detention and per diem, storage and other third-party charges are excluded unless they are specifically included in your written quote. They are assessed by the parties whose equipment or facilities are involved, which may be a terminal, a steamship line, a yard or a warehouse, and they depend on release and return timing rather than on the transport itself. A quote covers the transportation and the accessorials listed in it; anything else is billed as incurred.
What is the difference between a live unload and drop-and-hook?
On a live unload the driver waits while the container is stripped and takes it away the same trip, so the quote includes a free time window and charges detention beyond it. On a drop-and-hook the container is left on a chassis and collected later, which reduces unloading wait time but may still involve equipment, appointment, pickup or return delays; you also hold the chassis and container while per diem runs.
How do I know whether my container is overweight?
Road limits apply to the whole combination, and the container's own tare counts toward it. Heavier loads frequently need a tri-axle chassis, and some need permitted routing. Send the cargo weight and the container tare at quote stage: it changes the equipment, not just the price.
Can you pick up a container that has not been released yet?
Pickup normally cannot take place until every required release is complete: the container discharged and available on the terminal system, customs released where an entry is required, the steamship line's freight release in place, and any remaining terminal hold cleared. Those releases sit with the terminal, the line and the relevant authorities rather than with the carrier. We can monitor availability and be positioned to move as soon as it clears.
What is the single most common reason a drayage quote changes?
Weight. A container quoted on an assumed standard weight that turns out to need a tri-axle chassis is a different move. After that it is usually time: a live unload that runs long, or an appointment that cannot be obtained for the requested day.