The Drayage Squeeze: Why the First and Last Mile Still Decide Port Performance

Ports invest heavily in cranes, berths, and automation, and those investments matter. But ask a cargo owner what actually determines whether their container arrives on time and you will often hear about drayage: the short truck trips that move containers between terminals, warehouses, and rail ramps. Drayage is the least glamorous link in the supply chain and frequently the most fragile. When it breaks down, terminal productivity gains evaporate.

The drayage industry is fragmented. Most markets are served by hundreds of small carriers, many operating a handful of trucks, alongside a few larger players. Barriers to entry are low, margins are thin, and drivers are often independent contractors. This structure makes the industry flexible in normal times and brittle under stress. When volumes spike or terminals change appointment rules, small carriers absorb the shock first, and their exit from the market reduces capacity right when it is most needed.

The Terminal-Trucker Interface

Much of the friction in drayage occurs at the terminal gate. A truck arrives to pick up a container and finds it is not ready, or is in a stack that requires a long move, or has a customs hold that was not communicated. The driver waits, the appointment window passes, and the truck leaves empty. Multiply that by hundreds of trucks per day and the terminal's effective capacity shrinks.

Appointment systems have helped, but only when designed well. Systems that require truckers to book slots far in advance without visibility into container availability create their own problems. Systems that charge fees for missed appointments can push costs onto drivers who had no control over the delay. The best implementations give truckers real-time information about container readiness and allow flexible rescheduling, and they are built with input from the carriers who will use them.

Chassis availability is another recurring issue. In markets where chassis are pooled, the pool operator must balance supply across terminals and inland depots. In markets where carriers own chassis, each carrier must position equipment for its own moves. Both models can work, but both require coordination that often breaks down during volume surges. Dual transactions, where a truck drops one container and picks up another in the same visit, reduce trips and emissions, but they require terminals and carriers to align on timing and documentation.

What Ports and Policymakers Can Do

Ports cannot solve drayage alone, but they can improve the conditions in which it operates. Publishing accurate container availability data is a start. So is coordinating gate hours across terminals so that truckers can serve multiple facilities in one shift. Some ports have established trucking advisory groups that meet regularly with terminal operators, and these forums often surface problems before they become crises.

Policymakers have a role too. Driver classification rules, parking availability, and emissions regulations all shape the economics of drayage. Electrification of drayage fleets is a goal in many regions, but it depends on charging infrastructure and on truckers being able to afford new vehicles. Programs that support small carriers in upgrading equipment tend to be more effective than mandates alone.

The first and last mile will never be as visible as a giant container ship, but it is where supply chain promises are kept or broken. Ports that treat drayage as a core part of their performance, rather than an external problem, will find that their investments upstream pay off far more reliably.