Drayage · July 9, 2026
The move isn't done when the box is unloaded. The empty still has to go back — and how it goes back is real money.
Everyone thinks about getting the loaded container out of the port. The empty return is the half nobody talks about — and it's where per-diem charges quietly rack up. Once you've unloaded, the ocean line's clock is running until that empty is back where it belongs.
After you strip the container, it has to be returned to a terminal or depot the ocean line designates — which isn't always the one you picked it up from, and which can change based on congestion. Return it late, or to the wrong place, and you're paying per-diem (the carrier's charge for keeping their equipment too long). Empty returns also get thrown into disarray when a terminal stops accepting a certain line's empties — a normal headache at busy ports.
A street turn is the smart shortcut: instead of trucking your empty all the way back to the port, that same empty container goes straight to a nearby exporter who needs to load it for an outbound shipment. The box never makes the round trip to the terminal. It cuts a move, saves fuel and time, reduces per-diem, and takes a truck trip off the road.
Street turns need the ocean line's approval and a matching export booking on the same line — so it only works when someone's tracking both sides. Miss the match and the empty just goes back conventionally. It's the kind of saving that only happens when your carrier is actually looking for it.
We track each empty's return location and the line's free time so the box goes back before per-diem hits, and we look for street-turn matches where the line allows it — turning your empty into someone's export instead of a wasted round trip. It's part of running drayage as a system, not one leg at a time.
After you unload, the container has to be returned to a terminal or depot the ocean line designates. Until it's back, the line charges per-diem for keeping their equipment, so timing and the correct return location matter.
A street turn is when your unloaded empty goes directly to a nearby exporter to be reloaded, instead of being trucked back to the port. It cuts a move, saves per-diem and fuel, and needs the ocean line's approval plus a matching export booking.
The ocean line's free time runs until the empty is returned. Late returns — or returns to the wrong location — rack up per-diem. Congestion and terminals refusing certain lines' empties make it worse.
Yes, where the ocean line allows it and there's a matching export booking. We track empties and free time to return them on time and to catch street-turn opportunities that save you money.