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Pre-pull

What is a container pre-pull, and is it worth paying for?

A pre-pull takes your container off the ramp before the last free day and holds it until your dock is ready. It is worth paying for when the ramp charges it avoids outweigh the per diem and the extra move it adds. Setara Transport pre-pulls from CN Brampton and CPKC Vaughan into its own yard, which is secured, with cameras.

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White truck hauling a shipping container at an intermodal terminal
What it can avoid
Ramp storage and demurrageThe charges that build while it waits at the ramp
What it adds
Per diem and a second moveThe line's clock runs from the day it leaves
Where it waits
Our own secured yardOn a chassis, with cameras
The move

What is a container pre-pull?

A pre-pull splits one delivery into two moves. First the container leaves the ramp. Later, it goes to your dock.

1

Pull before the last free day

Once the releases are in place, we book the pickup at the ramp and pull the container before the last free day.

2

Hold it on a chassis

The container waits on a chassis in our own yard, which is secured, with cameras.

3

Deliver when you are ready

Tell dispatch when your dock is ready. We deliver from the yard, live unload or drop.

Your options

What are your options when the last free day is close and the dock is not ready?

You have three options. Each one stops a different clock, or lets one keep running.

At the ramp

Leave it at the ramp

No extra move. Railway storage and the line's demurrage can build after free time. If a container sits too long, the railway can move it to an off-site yard.

At your site

Drop it at your site

If you have the yard space, we leave the container on a chassis at your site. We come back for the empty when you are done.

In our yard

Pre-pull it

We pull it before the last free day and hold it in our own yard until your dock is ready. Delivery is a second move.

A drop and a pre-pull both start per diem the day the container leaves the ramp. A drop saves the second move, but it needs yard space at your site.

The decision

When is a pre-pull worth paying for?

Compare what waiting at the ramp would cost with what the pre-pull adds. Use your own dates and your own line's terms.

Count the days at the ramp. How many days past the last free day would the container sit before your dock is ready? Each one can carry railway storage and the line's demurrage.

Count what the pre-pull adds. Per diem starts the day the container leaves the ramp, and delivery becomes a second move. Ask your line for its per diem free time.

Get both prices. Ask dispatch to quote the pre-pull and the straight delivery side by side. Ask your line for its demurrage terms in writing, and check the railway's last free day.

Apply the rule. If the days at the ramp would cost more than the added per diem and the second move, pre-pull. If not, leave it at the ramp or take a drop.

Put these side by side
  • Days past the last free day
  • Railway storage
  • Line demurrage
  • Per diem free time
  • The second move

How each charge is set: drayage rates explained.

Before we pull

What has to be true before a pre-pull?

A pre-pull is still a pickup. The ramp lets a container go only when nothing holds it.

Customs

The customs release

Your customs broker requests the customs release. Setara Transport is a carrier and does not clear customs.

Ocean line

The line's release

Your ocean line releases the container and gives a pickup number for the trucker.

Railway

Storage paid or guaranteed

Storage owing must be paid or guaranteed first. CN takes storage guarantees online, not by fax or email.

A pre-pull cannot beat a hold. If customs, the line or the railway holds the container, it stays at the ramp until the hold is lifted. See what the arrival notice tells you.

Delivery

How does the delivery work after a pre-pull?

Tell dispatch when your dock is ready, and we deliver from the yard.

Live unload. The driver waits while you unload, then takes the empty straight back. Per diem usually stops sooner.

Drop. If you have the yard space, we leave the container on a chassis at your site. We come back for the empty when you are done.

Tell us which at tender, with your receiving hours. The empty goes back to the ramp or to a depot the shipping line names. Compare both on live unload or drop.

Tell dispatch
  • When your dock is ready
  • Receiving hours
  • Live unload or drop
  • Where the empty goes back
Per diem

What happens to per diem while it waits?

Per diem is the common name for the ocean line's detention charge. It starts when the container leaves the ramp and runs until the empty is returned.

A pre-pull trades the ramp's clocks for the line's per diem clock. Every day in our yard is a day on the line's per diem clock, counted the way your line counts days.

Your line and your contract set the per diem free time. Some lines count working days only, others count every day. Ask your line in writing.

When per diem starts and stops, in detail: container per diem. The ramp's clocks: storage and demurrage.

Three clocks
  • Railway storage: at the ramp
  • Line demurrage: at the ramp
  • Line per diem: after it leaves
Setara Transport

What does Setara Transport do?

We pre-pull containers off CN Brampton and CPKC Vaughan into our own yard. Dispatch quotes the pre-pull with the move.

What you send
  • The container number and the ramp
  • The last free day
  • Release status: customs and the ocean line
  • The date your dock will be ready
  • Live unload or drop at your dock
What we do
  • Tell you what is still missing
  • Book the pickup at the ramp: the CN Brampton gate appointment or the CPKC Vaughan pickup
  • Pull it on our own chassis and hold it in our secured yard
  • Deliver when your dock is ready, live unload or drop
  • Bring the empty back to the ramp or the depot the line names

Send us the container number and we tell you what is still missing. Dispatch, at (905) 745-2322, Monday to Friday, 8:00 to 18:00 ET, or dispatch@setara.ca.

Questions

Pre-pull questions.

What is a pre-pull in drayage?
A pre-pull takes a container off the ramp before the last free day. The trucker holds it on a chassis until the receiver's dock is ready. Delivery follows as a second move.
Does a pre-pull stop demurrage?
Usually, yes. Once the container leaves the ramp, the line's demurrage normally gives way to per diem. Railway storage also stops building. Check your line's terms, because the rules are the line's.
Does a pre-pull stop per diem?
No. Per diem starts when the container leaves the ramp and runs until the empty is returned. A pre-pull starts that clock earlier, so count the days in the yard before you decide.
Where do you keep a pre-pulled container?
In our own yard, which is secured, with cameras. The container waits on a chassis until your dock is ready. Then we deliver it, live unload or drop.
Can you pre-pull a container that is on hold?
No. A pre-pull is still a pickup, and the ramp keeps a container on hold until the hold is lifted. The customs release, the line's release, and storage paid or guaranteed must all be in place first.
How do I ask for a pre-pull?
Tell dispatch at tender, with the container number, the last free day and the date your dock will be ready. Dispatch quotes the pre-pull with the move.
Related answers

More answers for importers.

Storage and demurrage

The ramp's clocks and the last free day

When does per diem stop?

The ocean line's clock after pickup

Live unload or drop?

Which delivery fits your dock

What goes into a drayage rate?

The lines on the rate confirmation

Drayage terms

The words on the paperwork, in plain English

All answers

Every answer for importers and forwarders

Dock not ready before the last free day? Call dispatch.

The container number, the last free day and the date your dock will be ready.