Drayage at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach is the short-haul truck movement of ocean containers between the marine terminals of the San Pedro Bay complex and nearby warehouses, transload yards, or inland rail ramps. Together, the two ports remain the dominant U.S. West Coast container gateway, handling roughly one third of U.S. containerized international waterborne trade and an outsized share of Transpacific import volume. In 2026, the cost and timing of any LA or Long Beach drayage move is shaped by five operational layers: terminal appointment behavior, the PierPass Traffic Mitigation Fee, the Clean Truck Fund Rate, chassis pool conditions, and capacity volatility from regulatory and geopolitical pressures.
Drayage at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach is where landed cost is either protected or quietly lost. A small misalignment on appointment timing, chassis availability, hold management, or free time can take what should have been a clean container move and turn it into a stack of demurrage, detention, and per diem charges that no one priced into the booking.
This guide is built for the operational reality of the San Pedro Bay complex in 2026. It walks through the fees, the terminals, the chassis environment, the free time pressure points, the Clean Truck Program rules, and the capacity risks that are reshaping how reliable a drayage move actually is right now. If you are an importer, freight forwarder, or NVOCC moving containers through LA or Long Beach this year, the goal is to give you what you need to avoid surprise costs and missed appointments, not just describe how the complex works.
What this guide helps you control
- Surprise costs from the LA and Long Beach fee stack, including PierPass TMF, the Clean Truck Fund Rate, chassis per diem, and demurrage exposure.
- Missed terminal appointments caused by reactive dispatch and weak appointment intelligence at the marine terminal operator level.
- Chassis exposure that quietly builds when containers sit on a chassis longer than they need to.
- Free time loss caused by steamship line holds, customs holds, or terminal congestion that goes unmonitored until LFD.
- Capacity volatility from the FMCSA non-domiciled CDL rule, the Hormuz and Red Sea disruption, and ongoing carrier alliance reshuffles.
1. The San Pedro Bay complex, in operational terms
The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach sit side by side on San Pedro Bay, sharing roughly 7,500 acres of working waterfront, two separate harbor commissions, and a shared regulatory framework under the San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan. They also share the same drayage labor pool, the same I-710 corridor inland, and the same rail egress through the Alameda Corridor to downtown Los Angeles intermodal yards. Operationally, they are best treated as one ecosystem with two billing addresses.
Throughput is concentrated. The San Pedro Bay complex remains the dominant U.S. West Coast gateway for Transpacific cargo, handling roughly one third of U.S. containerized international waterborne trade. That concentration creates two structural realities: terminal cut-offs are tight, and small disruptions in vessel discharge, gate behavior, or trucker availability translate quickly into measurable cost on the drayage side.
2. Terminals at Los Angeles and Long Beach
The San Pedro Bay complex is served by twelve WCMTOA-aligned marine terminal operators across the two ports, while individual facility naming can vary by port, operator, and berth group. The table below reflects the operating environment a drayage carrier actually encounters at the gate. Each terminal sets its own appointment release windows, chassis acceptance rules, dual-transaction policies, and weekend gate schedule, which is why a Port of LA move and a Port of Long Beach move can have completely different pickup characteristics on the same day.
| Port | Facility | Operator |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | APM Terminals (Pier 400) | APM Terminals, Maersk Group |
| Los Angeles | Everport Terminal Services | Everport, Evergreen affiliate |
| Los Angeles | Fenix Marine Services (Pier 300) | Fenix Marine Services, CMA CGM |
| Los Angeles | TraPac LA | TraPac LLC |
| Los Angeles | Yusen Terminals (YTI) | Yusen Terminals LLC |
| Los Angeles | West Basin Container Terminal (CSP) | China Shipping operations at West Basin |
| Los Angeles | West Basin Container Terminal (TiL) | Terminal Investment Limited berth group |
| Long Beach | Long Beach Container Terminal (Pier E) | LBCT LLC |
| Long Beach | Total Terminals International (Pier T) | TTI, HMM affiliate |
| Long Beach | International Transportation Service (Pier G) | ITS, K Line affiliate |
| Long Beach | Pacific Container Terminal (Pier J) | SSA Marine |
| Long Beach | SSA Terminals (Pier A) | SSA Marine |
| Long Beach | Matson Terminal (Pier C) | SSA Marine, Matson services |
Why this matters: a drayage provider that does not model terminal-specific behavior, hour by hour, will burn free time on moves that should have been clean. Strong port drayage execution depends on knowing each terminal as its own operating environment, not a uniform pickup point.
3. The LA and Long Beach drayage fee stack
A drayage rate at LA or Long Beach is never a single number. It is a stack of base trucking, port-specific surcharges, equipment charges, and exposure to penalty fees. Knowing what sits in that stack is the first step to controlling it.
| Fee layer | Who sets it | What importers should know in 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Base drayage rate | Drayage carrier | Driver, tractor, fuel surcharge, and base move. Varies by lane density, container size, and live unload versus drop pull. |
| Traffic Mitigation Fee (TMF) | PierPass under WCMTOA | Flat per-container fee that funds extended terminal gate hours. As of August 1, 2025, the TMF is $38.78 per TEU and $77.56 per FEU or other non-TEU container size, charged on non-exempt loaded import and export containers. Adjusted annually each August. |
| Clean Truck Fund Rate (CTF) | Port of LA and Port of Long Beach | Cargo owners pay $10 per loaded TEU and $20 for larger containers when the move is hauled by a conventional drayage truck. Zero-emission trucks are exempt. Eligible low-NOx trucks have a temporary exemption through December 31, 2027. Each port collects its own CTF Rate. |
| Alameda Corridor fee | Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority | Applies to containers that move via the Alameda Corridor rail line between San Pedro Bay and downtown Los Angeles intermodal yards. |
| Chassis usage fee | Chassis pool or Intermodal Equipment Provider | Daily per-diem charge based on chassis-in to chassis-out time. Chassis choice exists under the Ocean Shipping Reform Act, but availability and quality drive real cost. |
| Pre-pull or off-dock yard | Drayage carrier and yard operator | Optional fee that prevents worse fees downstream. A pre-pull to an off-dock yard before LFD often costs less than a single day of terminal demurrage. |
| Demurrage and per diem | Steamship line and terminal | Per-day penalty charges that begin once free time expires. The single largest avoidable cost in LA and Long Beach drayage. |
| Fuel surcharge | Drayage carrier | Indexed to California ULSD diesel pricing, which is structurally higher than the national average due to CARB-specific fuel blend requirements. |
For the deeper play on managing the demurrage and detention layer specifically, see No-Surprises Drayage: how to stop demurrage costs forming.
4. Chassis pools and why chassis choice matters
Chassis is the single most underestimated cost driver in LA and Long Beach drayage. Importers often see a clean base rate, then ask why the final invoice carries a per-diem stack. The answer is usually chassis. Three structural facts to anchor decisions:
- San Pedro Bay primarily operates under a shared Pool of Pools arrangement among the major Intermodal Equipment Providers. The pool simplifies on-dock chassis access but does not guarantee equipment quality or precise positioning at every terminal on every day.
- Under the Ocean Shipping Reform Act, motor carriers and shippers can exercise chassis choice, meaning they can select the IEP that supplies the chassis when the cargo interest pays. Exercising chassis choice at LA and Long Beach requires upstream coordination and a carrier who actually manages the IEP relationship.
- Chassis dwell drives chassis cost. Every additional day a container sits on a chassis is a per-diem day. Pre-pulls to off-dock yards or transload facilities convert chassis dwell into yard dwell, which is often dramatically cheaper.
A drayage provider that treats chassis as a yes or no question pays for that posture on the invoice. Strong operators treat chassis as a planning variable across the lifecycle of the move.
5. Free time, ERD, and LFD at LA and Long Beach
Free time is the period in which a container can sit at the terminal after discharge before demurrage begins. ERD, the Earliest Return Date, controls when an empty container can be returned for an export booking. LFD, the Last Free Day, is the deadline before terminal demurrage starts forming. These three windows govern almost every avoidable cost in import drayage.
At LA and Long Beach, all three are under structural pressure. Vessel sizes have grown, terminal yard density is fixed, ILWU work schedules introduce variable gate intensity, and steamship lines have tightened published free time across the major trade lanes. A shipper who treated free time as five business days in 2018 may now be operating with three available business days once appointments, gate constraints, and holds are factored in.
For the operating discipline behind protecting free time, see Real-Time Drayage Tracking: Why Visibility Is Now a Non-Negotiable for Importers.
6. Clean Truck Program rules to know in 2026
The San Pedro Bay Clean Air Action Plan sets a goal of 100 percent zero-emission drayage trucks by 2035, funded primarily through the Clean Truck Fund Rate. The current rules that matter for importers, forwarders, and NVOCCs in 2026:
- Every drayage truck calling at a San Pedro Bay terminal must be enrolled in the Port Drayage Truck Registry and compliant with the California Air Resources Board Drayage Truck Regulation. A non-registered truck cannot enter the terminal.
- The Clean Truck Fund Rate is $10 per loaded TEU and $20 for larger containers when hauled by a conventional drayage truck. Each port collects its own rate on loaded import and export containers.
- Zero-emission trucks are permanently exempt from the CTF Rate. Eligible low-NOx trucks have a temporary exemption that expires December 31, 2027.
- Both ports continue to release voucher and incentive funding through CALSTART and the California HVIP program to accelerate zero-emission truck deployment, with funding rounds open through 2026.
Importers cannot opt out of the CTF Rate, because it is a tariff charge on loaded containers passing through the terminal. The practical lever importers do have is selecting drayage providers who participate in the Port Drayage Truck Registry compliantly and who can route zero-emission capacity where it is available.
7. Three capacity pressures reshaping LA and Long Beach in 2026
7a. The Hormuz and Red Sea disruption
The Strait of Hormuz disruption is affecting fuel markets, vessel routing decisions, and global service reliability across multiple trade lanes. For Los Angeles and Long Beach, the practical risk in 2026 is less about a clean shift in cargo volume and more about reduced predictability. Bunker fuel volatility, longer rerouted transits, and shifting carrier scheduling translate into less predictable vessel arrival behavior at the terminal gate, which puts more pressure on appointment, chassis, and free time planning. Treat this as a planning variable, not a fixed assumption.
7b. The FMCSA non-domiciled CDL rule
The FMCSA non-domiciled CDL rule is tightening driver credentialing standards after the March 16, 2026 effective date. The rule may reduce available drayage capacity in markets that rely heavily on non-domiciled CDL holders. For Los Angeles and Long Beach specifically, treat this as a capacity planning variable, not a footnote. Importers and forwarders working with smaller or unvetted carrier networks have more exposure than those working with a vetted national network that already validates driver credentialing as part of standard onboarding.
7c. Carrier alliance restructuring
Ocean carrier alliance restructuring through 2025 and 2026 has produced different vessel arrival patterns, different terminal allocations, and different berthing windows for many trade lanes. A shipper who was running clean drayage out of a specific terminal twelve months ago may now be encountering a different MTO entirely for the same service. Drayage providers tied to one or two terminals are exposed. Providers with cross-terminal capacity and live appointment intelligence absorb the change more cleanly.
8. Cost control checklist for LA and Long Beach drayage
A practical, importer-side scoreboard. Each line is a place where money is most often lost on San Pedro Bay drayage moves, and the action that prevents it.
| Risk | What it costs if mismanaged | Action that prevents it |
|---|---|---|
| Free time expiration | Terminal demurrage starting at LFD, often escalating per day | Plan pickup against ERD and LFD before the container is on the ground, not after |
| Chassis dwell | Daily per-diem accumulating until chassis-out | Convert chassis dwell into yard dwell through a pre-pull when delivery is delayed |
| Missed terminal appointment | Lost slot, next-day reschedule, compressed free time | Use a provider with terminal-level appointment intelligence and redundant carrier capacity |
| Steamship line or customs hold | Containers stuck through LFD with no advance warning | Monitor holds in real time across terminals and steamship lines, not at gate arrival |
| Non-PDTR or non-compliant truck | Truck refused at gate, missed appointment, rebooking cost | Confirm carriers operate only PDTR-registered, CARB-compliant equipment at the San Pedro Bay |
| Single-carrier dependence | No-trucks days during volatile capacity cycles | Use a redundant vetted carrier network with coverage at every San Pedro Bay terminal |
| Wrong routing decision (direct vs transload) | Over-paying on cube delivered for distant inland destinations | Model inland mileage and chassis exposure before booking, not after vessel arrival |
| Manual status chasing | Hours per day lost to email and portal logins, margin erosion | Use API or EDI integration to push milestones directly into your TMS or ERP |
9. Direct drayage versus transloading at LA and Long Beach
San Pedro Bay is the highest-leverage transloading region in the United States. Off-dock yards in Carson, Wilmington, Compton, Mira Loma, and the Inland Empire West can receive ocean containers within hours of pickup, unload, and reload the freight into 53-foot domestic trailers for inland distribution. Two questions decide whether transloading wins:
- Is your inland destination beyond break-even mileage? Above roughly 1,500 to 1,800 miles inland from LA and Long Beach, transloading into 53-foot domestic equipment usually beats direct ocean container drayage on cost per cube delivered, because a 53-foot trailer carries materially more freight than a 40-foot marine container.
- Is chassis or free time exposure the binding constraint? If chassis pools are tight or LFD is approaching, transloading off-dock removes the ocean container from the terminal and the chassis pool quickly, eliminating per diem and demurrage exposure even when direct delivery would otherwise be the obvious choice.
For the underlying service detail, see BYC transloading services. For rail-side inland leg execution, see rail drayage services.
10. How a reliable LA and Long Beach drayage move should execute
For high-volume importers, the practical requirement is one container view across terminal status, holds, ERD, LFD, chassis, and appointment activity, with operational planning that begins from vessel milestones rather than container availability. When those elements come together, drayage execution becomes predictable instead of reactive.
BookYourCargo supports this through its digital drayage platform, which consolidates terminal milestones, ERD and LFD windows, chassis status, and steamship line holds into a single live view. Every booking is supported by a nationwide vetted carrier network with redundant capacity at every San Pedro Bay terminal, and API and EDI integration is included for active customers. For first-party spot-market context across regions, the BYC Drayage Index publishes monthly rate trends going back to 2022.
Frequently asked questions about LA and Long Beach drayage
Get LA and Long Beach drayage moving without the fee stack catching you off guard
San Pedro Bay drayage is too operationally dense to manage with a transactional dispatch model. The complex rewards providers who plan from vessel arrival, monitor every free time and hold window automatically, and absorb capacity volatility through a redundant carrier network. Request an instant drayage quote or talk to BYC operations about how your LA and Long Beach moves would execute on the platform.
