Container Freight

Container transport sounds simple - move a box from port to warehouse. But the reality involves multiple timing windows, coordination points, and cost triggers that can quickly erode your margins:

• Demurrage pressure: Free time at port expires while you wait for customs clearance, equipment availability, or warehouse readiness
• Detention exposure: Empty containers sit at your facility while return logistics get deprioritized
• Vessel cut-off risk: Export containers arrive late, missing the ship and delaying delivery by a week or more
• Coordination gaps: Terminal appointments, trucking, customs, and warehouse availability all need to align

These aren't logistics problems - they're business problems. Late delivery penalties, production delays, customer dissatisfaction, and margin erosion all stem from poor container timing.

Container drayage isn't an isolated trucking service in our model - it's an integrated part of your supply chain with single-point responsibility:

• Customs pre-clearance verification: We confirm release status before dispatching trucks - no wasted trips to port
• Free time tracking: Automated monitoring of demurrage and detention windows with proactive alerts
• Terminal appointment management: Booking and confirming slots to prevent queue delays
• Pickup optimization: Scheduling collection within free time while coordinating with your receiving schedule
• Return scheduling: Empty containers returned to depot before detention triggers

One coordinator tracks your container from vessel discharge through empty return. No handoffs between departments, no information gaps, no surprises.

Standard and specialized container moves require matched equipment:

• Container chassis: Standard trailers for 20' and 40' containers
• Tilt chassis: For containers requiring tilting for gravity unload (grain, bulk)
• Genset trailers: Continuous power for reefer containers during road transport
• Flatbed trailers: For flat rack and open top containers with oversized cargo
• Heavy haul equipment: For overweight containers requiring special permits

We operate across major Baltic and European container terminals:

• Riga Freeport: Primary hub for Latvian container operations
• Klaipeda: Lithuania's main container gateway
• Gdansk/Gdynia: Major Polish container ports
• Tallinn: Estonian port operations
• Hamburg, Rotterdam, Antwerp: Western European hub connections

Terminal relationships and local knowledge translate to faster processing and fewer delays.

These charges are often misunderstood until they appear on an invoice:

• Demurrage: Charged when a full container remains at the port terminal beyond free storage time. Rates escalate daily.
• Detention: Charged when you keep the shipping line's empty container beyond allowed days. Also escalates.
• Per diem: Daily rental charges on shipping line equipment, often combined with detention.

A single 40' container incurring 5 days of demurrage plus 5 days detention can easily cost €500-1000 or more depending on the line. This often exceeds the transport cost itself. We prevent this by treating container timing as a primary operational focus, not an afterthought.

Container transport connects to every other element of international logistics:

• Sea freight: We coordinate vessel bookings with container positioning to ensure cut-off compliance
• Customs brokerage: Clearance is completed before pickup dispatch, not after the truck arrives at port
• Warehousing: Receiving schedules aligned with container delivery windows
• Documentation: Release orders, delivery notes, and return confirmations handled as part of the flow

This integration is why we handle container drayage as a logistics service, not a standalone trucking job. Your container timing affects everything downstream.