Answers for importers and forwarders at the GTA ramps.
Short, plain answers for importers, exporters and forwarders with containers at CN Brampton or CPKC Vaughan. Each page answers one question, from what a rail status means to where the empty goes back. Start with the section that matches where your container is now.
Your container at the ramp.
What the tracking says, what the arrival notice tells you, and what a strike or an embargo changes.
What does "arrived at destination rail ramp" mean for your container?
Arrived, deramped and available, and what must be in place before a truck can pull it.
What do you do with an arrival notice?
What the notice tells you, the two releases, and what to send dispatch.
What happens to your container during a rail strike?
Containers at or heading to the ramps, the charges that build, and the pickup.
What does a rail embargo or ramp congestion mean for your container?
An embargo, a congested ramp or a move to an off-site yard, and what each changes.
Delivery to your dock.
How the container is delivered, how a heavy container moves, and who answers for damage inside a sealed one.
Live unload or drop: which container delivery fits your dock?
How each one works, and what each does to waiting time and per diem.
How is a heavy container moved?
Heavy and overweight containers on tri-axle chassis, and the cargo weight we need from you.
Who is liable for damage inside a sealed container?
What shipper load and count means, and what to check before you sign.
Charges, and how to keep them down.
What sets a drayage rate, the clocks the railway and the ocean line run, and the moves that stop them.
What goes into a drayage rate, and which extra charges can appear?
What sets the rate from the ramp to your dock, and how to compare two quotes.
What are storage and demurrage at the ramp?
Railway storage, ocean line demurrage, the last free day, and what holds a container.
What is container per diem, and when does the clock stop?
The ocean line's detention after pickup, and how to keep it down.
What is truck detention, and how is waiting time counted?
The trucker's waiting time at your dock, when it starts, and how to avoid it.
What is a container pre-pull, and is it worth paying for?
Pulling a container off the ramp before your dock is ready, and when it pays.
Can storage or demurrage be waived when the delay was not yours?
Who pays when a hold or an embargo kept the container at the ramp, and how to ask.
Exports and empty returns.
Getting a loaded export to the ramp, and getting the empty off your hands.
How does an export container get from your dock to a GTA ramp?
Empty to your dock, loaded, and back to the ramp before the rail cutoff.
Where do I return an empty container in the GTA?
The ramp or a depot your ocean line names, and when per diem stops.
Choosing and booking a carrier.
Who books the truck, what to ask a drayage carrier, and how a load ends up with someone you never hired.
How do you choose a drayage carrier for GTA containers?
The questions to ask before you tender a container at either ramp.
Who hires the trucker for an import container: you or the line?
Merchant haulage or carrier haulage, and the drayage line on your invoice.
What is double brokering, and how do you spot a fake pickup?
What to check at tender and at the gate before your load moves.
Words on the paperwork.
The words on arrival notices, rate confirmations and invoices, each one explained in plain English.
What do common drayage terms mean, from the ramp to your dock?
Deramped, last free day, per diem, pre-pull and more, with a link to the page that covers each.
For owner-operators.
The same ramps, seen from the cab.
Is container drayage good work for a GTA owner-operator?
Ramp work on our chassis, waiting time, and load boards versus signing on with a carrier.
Container at the ramp? Send us the number.
The container number, the ramp, the last free day and your delivery address.