What is Intermodal Transportation?
Intermodal transportation involves using multiple modes of transport - typically a combination of truck, ship, and rail - to move goods efficiently. A typical intermodal load may start on a truck, transfer to a ship or train, and then return to a truck for the final leg of its journey.
Intermodal Equipment
Detached Trailers and Box Drop Trailers: Large metal containers specifically designed to transport goods across various modes.
What is Drayage in Sea Transport?
Sea drayage is a specialized segment of intermodal logistics that involves moving containers between seaports and Amazon facilities using specific equipment. It includes both road and sea transportation for detached, and box drop trailers.
Key Advantages:
- Lower Carbon Emissions: Because drayage routes are often shorter, they can be better for the environment. It helps Amazon along in its contributions to The Climate Pledge, the shared commitment to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040
- Short Distances: It involves quick trips to get containers further along in their journey. Relay carriers run drayage loads between Amazon sites and sea ports, and vice versa. Each drayage run is one shift, so even if carriers add multiple moves, drivers are typically home by the end of the day.
- Cross-Border Operations: It involves trips between UK<>EU via Calais-Dover, Immingham-Rotterdam, Rotterdam-Felixstowe, Inter-EU states, and trips between UK- Northern Ireland, UK-Ireland.
Booking Types: Accompanied vs. Unaccompanied
- Accompanied: The driver stays with the trailer during the ferry journey.
- Unaccompanied: The driver drops off the trailer at the origin port and returns with the tractor. Another driver collects the trailer at the destination port.
Amazon has an automated booking process and pays for the driver’s journey along with the trailer for accompanied loads. Amazon informs and notifies the booking type in advance.
Why Choose Sea Transportation?
Europe’s geography and infrastructure make sea and rail routes efficient alternatives to road transport. That’s why Amazon is expanding its use of short sea and rail routes to move packages and inventory across Europe.
On average, switching to rail or sea transport reduces carbon emissions by nearly 50%.
The SEA business is growing at a 30% CAGR, reflecting rapid expansion and opportunity.
Example of Sea Drayage
A warehouse in Zaragoza, Spain loads a detached trailer onto a chassis. A Relay carrier transports it to the port in Barcelona. From there, a maritime partner ships it to Savona, Italy. At the Savona port, the trailer is placed back onto a chassis and continues by road to a warehouse in Bergamo.
How to Find Drayage Loads
- Contracts: Secure weeks or months of work in advance with predictable scheduling. You can reserve blocks of drayage to receive payout for chunks of time, even if Amazon doesn’t use the full duration.
- Load Board: A lot of Amazon’s drayage loads are spot freight, allowing carriers to cherry pick upcoming work that fits their business. To filter power-only container work on Relay’s load board, drayage carriers just search by container equipment type and their relevant rail certifications.
