Bid software focused on drayage rates can help improve sorting. For example, if you load 12 carrier responses, the first thing you will see is a column of numbers with the lowest at the top. If you are after low prices, then from that moment going forward, the smallest number has a head start on every other factor in the file. However, that approach can be limiting, especially in a cutthroat freight climate like that of Southern California. What you need is a drayage RFP scorecard.
Now, that is not to discredit the RFP process that depends on drayage rates. After all, it helps lock carriers into lanes and commit volumes in writing, both of which are worth keeping, but the weak spot is what is sorted. Drayage rates in Southern California are a base price for one move, from the terminal gate to the dock, and they say very little about what happens when the vessel is late. But with a robust drayage scorecard, you can easily compare cost to serve.
Looking at a table of California drayage rates isn’t enough to tell you whether a carrier has enough money left in its budget to keep running trucks in month nine of the contract. That’s the problem with a rate-only filter.
National Road Logistics, a port and intermodal trucking company out of Signal Hill, California, filed Chapter 11 on April 6. FreightWaves reported that National Road had 27 power units and about $1.6 million in assets, while creditor claims included $9.5 million from Nordstrom over a lease. TGS Transportation, which has been doing drayage for nearly 40 years, shut down July 31, 2025, and filed for Chapter 7 this February with a closing notice that said the company was “parking our trucks for good.”
To be fair, none of these were due to the rate filter problem. National Road’s issues stemmed from leasing/contract problems, while TGS went under because of a loan default it blamed on marketplace dynamics. But none of these problems would have shown up in a side-by-side drayage rate comparison for California carriers since they can offer competitive pricing right before going bankrupt. When that happens, shippers are stuck with the fallout: containers at terminals with their last free day approaching and lanes put back into bidding mid-contract. Even a long history like TGS’ is not proof of strength.
To get started, rate on evidence. Score each bidder on five things the rate can’t show. Give a 2 when the carrier delivers a document, a 1 when it claims without follow-up, and a 0 when it does not respond.
Ask for on-time delivery for 12 months, month by month, and by terminal if the carrier has it. This is necessary because a good annual average can mask a bad August. Know what the carrier’s definition of “on time” is, because some carriers measure against the appointment and others against the day. Whatever that definition is, make sure it suits your business.
Ocean carriers and terminals bill demurrage and detention, but those charges are often excluded from every quote you get. Nevertheless, both can still be the largest variance between two bids. Ask each bidder what percentage of their customers’ containers were charged beyond the last free day last year and why. Most carriers do not track this information, but those that do will typically provide that information quickly.
Find out who checks and disputes the invoices too. The FMC requires an invoice to be mailed within 30 days of the final date upon which charges were assessed; if the invoice is sent after that time, there is no obligation to pay, and the billed party has at least 30 days to respond, which means someone needs to review these dates. Finally, find out how the carrier receives notification of gate and appointment issues before they affect containers. Golden State Logistics, for example, meets with the marine terminals every month for that reason.
Two things need to be checked here: whether the bidder is on the state’s list of port trucking companies with unpaid judgments and how it classifies its drivers. The California Labor Commissioner’s Office list is updated by the fifth of every month. If you use a listed carrier, you are jointly liable for what the carrier owes its drivers from then on, so check out every bidder. For classification, please request the driver model in writing.
The state’s worker classification law, AB5, has been in effect since 2022, and enforcement is a priority. In late 2025, the labor commissioner cited Costco, Ryder Last Mile, and Mega Nice Trucking $868,128 for misclassifying 58 delivery drivers. It was a last-mile case out of San Diego, and all three have appealed, but note that the customer was cited with the carrier.
You want one name, one phone number for the day a container is stuck, and you want to know who that person reports to. A common dispatch inbox does not count.
The most useful reference has shopped California drayage rates the way you’re doing now, picked a lower bid at least once and a higher one at least once, and can say what the difference bought. Ask each bidder for two customers like that. Then ask those customers what their last bad week looked like and who called whom.
Ten points is the ceiling. Put the total in its own column on the bid sheet, next to the California drayage rates, so the software can sort on both.
You cannot directly calculate savings from a lower rate because, even if it saves you a small amount on each container, one late delivery can eat up all those savings. You can experiment with this yourself using four figures of your choice, but before you begin, determine exactly what your rate includes.
In California, a drayage rate is the base charge to haul or move a container. Any additional costs (i.e., fuel surcharges, chassis rentals, etc.) are billed on top of that rate. You also have to add any port charges, like PierPass Traffic Mitigation Fees, since these fees apply regardless of who you hire as a carrier.
Once you have that, figure out how much you would save per shipment. Calculate the total difference in price per container among your available options, and then multiply that by the average number of shipments you make over three months. Next, find out how much you could lose due to one late shipment. Calculate the average number of containers per shipment, then multiply that by the daily demurrage/detention fee listed in your carrier’s tariff (price list). Now divide the first figure (your savings) into the second figure (the loss). The result shows how many late days it would take for your savings to equal the loss.
As a simple example, assume you had two carriers. Carrier A was $50 less expensive than Carrier B per container, and you moved approximately 150 containers per quarter. Your savings from Carrier A would be $7,500. If one shipment of 15 containers was delayed, the $100 per container per day late fee would translate to a $1,500-per-day loss. Dividing $7,500 by $1,500 results in approximately five late days.
If one shipment of 15 containers were held five days longer than Carrier A allowed, the savings from paying less for shipping over the previous three-month period would be entirely consumed by the late fee. When comparing drayage rates in California, your $7,500 savings will appear in a sorted list. The $1,500 will not, so determine your own numbers before comparing drayage rates in California, and note that most late fees increase with the length of time a container remains at the terminal.
For three decades, Golden State Logistics has moved containers out of the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports. With us, you have a direct line to ownership and a drayage carrier that has made its AB5 adjustments well ahead of the rest of the industry, while also running a monthly terminal meeting. We don’t hesitate to document our driver model in writing, provide a monthly history of on-time delivery (in the same format you requested), and provide any reference contact you’d like to speak with about their worst week. Contact us today to get started.
This article explains why location near the ports of LA and Long Beach matters and how keeping drayage, transloading, and yard space close to the water speeds up your entire supply chain.
Transloading can open doors to better shipping efficiency and faster delivery times. But many shippers and operators worry that prioritizing sustainability in transloading will increase costs.
2999 East Pacific Commerce Drive Rancho Dominguez, California 90221
Oakland, CA
