Container Drop Fee Calculator
Cost a drop-and-pick move: drop fee, pickup leg and the chassis days the container sits on.
A drop costs two dray legs plus chassis days but buys unlimited unloading time — the calculator nets it against the live-unload detention you'd have paid.
Sources & references
- Drayage accessorial norms — drop/pick structures
- Chassis pool per-diem schedules
Demurrage, detention and storage tariffs are set by each carrier, terminal and contract and change frequently. The preloaded figures are editable industry-typical examples, not quotes — always verify against the current published tariff or your service contract before paying or disputing an invoice.
Drop-and-pick is drayage's answer to slow docks: the driver drops the loaded container (on its chassis) at your facility and leaves, returning days later for the empty. You unload on your own schedule — no detention clock, no driver burning hours at your dock — but you pay two dray legs instead of one, plus the chassis per-diem for every day the box sits on wheels.
About Container Drop Fee Calculator
The calculator runs the honest comparison: drop fee + pick leg + chassis days, netted against the detention a live unload would actually have cost you. With a slow dock (3+ hours unload) the drop usually wins; with a 90-minute crew it usually doesn't. The break-even moves with your real unload speed, which is why the answer is a calculation, not a policy. Watch the chassis line: a dropped box occupies a chassis the whole sit, and per-diem (plus the container's own detention free time) keeps counting. The expensive failure is the dropped container that becomes yard storage — two weeks on wheels at $28/day plus equipment detention turns a convenience into the worst-priced warehouse in town. Drops are for unloading flexibility, not storage.
How to use Container Drop Fee Calculator
- 1Set each input — drop fee, pick-up (return) leg, days container sits at your dock, chassis per-diem during the sit — using your own figures.
- 2The estimate recomputes instantly as you type; no submit button, no waiting.
- 3Review the line-item breakdown to see how each component contributes to the total.
- 4Click “Copy quote” to paste the itemised result into an email, quote or audit note.
Why use Container Drop Fee Calculator?
- ✓Itemised line-by-line breakdown, not just a single opaque total
- ✓Copy-ready output for emails, quotes and audit notes
- ✓Recomputes live as you type — compare scenarios in seconds
- ✓Free and private — nothing you enter leaves your browser
Frequently asked questions
What does a typical drop fee cover?+
The dray's loss of the chassis and trailer-position for the duration plus the administrative overhead of the second trip — commonly $100–$250 depending on market. The return pick leg bills separately (sometimes at a discount versus a fresh dispatch). Neither covers the chassis pool's per-diem, which arrives on its own invoice.
When is a drop cheaper than a live unload?+
When expected detention exceeds the drop premium: roughly, if your dock regularly holds drivers past the 2 free hours by 2+ billable hours, the drop's economics win — and they win bigger as your unload time grows. Facilities with reliable sub-2-hour turns should almost never pay for drops; the calculator's net line makes the call per move.
Does the container's detention clock pause during a drop?+
No — equipment detention (per-diem to the ocean carrier) runs from terminal gate-out to empty return regardless of where the box sits. A drop changes who waits (nobody) but not what accrues. Check your detention free days cover the planned sit; the drop solves the driver problem, not the equipment problem.
Is it safe to keep a loaded container on a chassis overnight?+
Standard practice with basic precautions: kingpin lock, gated or camera'd yard, seal intact and recorded, landing gear on firm ground. Insurers care more about theft exposure than tipping — high-value loads warrant the same yard standards you'd demand of a dray's pre-pull lot. For multi-day sits, confirm your cargo policy covers the stationary period.
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