Drayage for 3PLs that actually fits warehouse operations.
Most drayage carriers were built around the truck. Cate Freight came out of the warehouse and 3PL world, so our Charleston drayage operation is built around how receiving actually runs. We know what an inbound SOP looks like, why dock managers care about appointment punctuality, and how a 3PL's customer judges them on receiving accuracy.
What 3PL receivers should expect from a Charleston drayage carrier
- Container number on every comm. Email subject lines lead with the container number. Every PDF is named with the container number. Your receiving system can match without manual rework.
- ASN-friendly arrival windows. If you give us a window, we hit it. If we can't, we tell you the day before, not the morning of.
- Drop-and-hook discipline. Drops are scheduled. Empty pickups are scheduled. Nothing sits on your yard guessing.
- Same-day POD imaging. Signed BOL imaged, named with the container number, emailed back the day of delivery.
- One dispatcher per file. Your warehouse manager isn't bouncing between people. The person who quoted runs the whole move.
How we plug into your inbound SOP
Tell us how your receiving runs. We'll match it. That includes:
- Container number on email subjects, PDFs, and ETA notifications
- BOL formatted to your customer's spec (line-itemed, palletized count, etc.)
- Photos at delivery if your customer requires them
- Door assignment honored when you provide it on the appointment
- Visibility data into your TMS — we can output container status to email, EDI, or a feed your TMS reads
The drop-and-hook playbook
Drop-and-hook is the cleanest delivery model for a 3PL with steady inbound volume. The driver drops the loaded container on a chassis at your dock, bobtails away, and we come back for the empty per your schedule. Zero driver detention. You unload on your timeline. Chassis per-diem accrues; we'll quote daily.
Dedicated drayage capacity for steady weekly volume
A 3PL with a recurring import program — a set number of boxes a week landing at Wando Welch or North Charleston — shouldn't be re-sourcing a truck every time a vessel discharges. Dedicated drayage capacity in Charleston means we commit trucks and chassis against your volume forecast, hold a standing pickup cadence at the terminal, and run the same drivers on your lane so your dock sees familiar faces and consistent paperwork. Give us a weekly forecast (even a rough one) and we'll confirm what we can hold, in writing, before the first vessel arrives.
- Standing terminal cadence. Appointments at Wando Welch, North Charleston, and Hugh Leatherman booked around your receiving hours, not the other way around.
- Committed chassis. For drop-and-hook programs we hold pool chassis (TRAC, DCLI, Flexi-Van) so an empty chassis line never stalls your dock.
- Forecast-based pricing. Consistent weekly volume gets a lane rate, not a spot quote per container.
- Honest ceilings. If your forecast outgrows what we can dedicate, we say so before peak season — not at the gate.
Drayage to warehouses across Charleston's industrial corridors
Most of the 3PL and contract-warehouse floor space in the Charleston market sits along a handful of corridors, and we run them daily: Palmetto Commerce Parkway and the Ashley Phosphate corridor in North Charleston, Ladson, the Jedburg Road cluster outside Summerville, the Camp Hall build-out near Ridgeville, and Bushy Park in Goose Creek. From Wando Welch, North Charleston, or Hugh Leatherman terminal, these are short, repeatable drays — the kind where a carrier that confirms releases and holds ASN windows earns the standing appointment. If your building sits further out — Orangeburg, Columbia, or up the I-26 corridor toward the Upstate — see our coverage area for lane-by-lane turn times.
Common questions