Transload drayage that closes the per-diem clock the same day.
Transloading is the right answer when your inland leg is much longer than the dray, when your shipper-of-record needs floor-loaded freight inside a 53', or when you want to return the empty fast and stop per diem cold. Cate Freight delivers to Charleston transload yards and coordinates the cross-dock — including same-day empty return.
What transload looks like in practice
A transload is a planned cross-dock: the ocean container is delivered to a transload facility, the contents are unloaded and reloaded onto domestic equipment (53' van, flatbed, or pallet for parcel/LTL), and the empty container is returned same day. The freight then moves inland on a domestic carrier — often cheaper, often faster, almost always more flexible than dragging the ocean box another 800 miles.
When transload beats a long-haul dray
- Inland delivery is more than ~250 miles from Charleston
- You're paying ocean per diem on a slow inland leg
- Your shipper-of-record needs 53' equipment
- The freight breaks down across multiple consignees
- You want palletized freight on parcel or LTL for the last mile
How Cate Freight coordinates a transload
- Drayage to transload yard. Container delivered with appointment booked.
- Cross-dock coordination. We work the transload facility on your behalf — pallet count, equipment match, BOL handoff.
- Empty return same day. Per diem clock stops the same shift the contents come off.
- Inland handoff. Domestic carrier dispatched against your TMS or via our partners.
- Documentation. Container EIR, transload BOL, and inland POD all back to you in one package.
Common questions