Pre-Pull

A pre-pull is a drayage move in two steps. The trucker collects the loaded import container from the terminal as soon as it can, takes it to the trucker's own yard on a chassis, and delivers it to the consignee later, when the dock can receive it. The point is to get the container out of the terminal before its last free day (LFD), after which the terminal or carrier charges demurrage by the day.

When a pre-pull makes sense

• The last free day falls before the day your warehouse can take the delivery
• The terminal is congested and pickup appointments are scarce, so waiting risks missing the LFD
• The terminal's gates are closed on your delivery day, for example over a weekend or holiday
• Several containers arrive together and your dock can unload only some of them each day

What it costs instead

A pre-pull does not remove charges; it swaps them. Demurrage stops, but you pay for an extra move into the trucker's yard, storage per day while it waits there, and chassis days for the whole time the container sits on the chassis. Depending on the carrier's tariff, the detention clock for the carrier's container can start once it leaves the terminal, so check the free time for both before deciding. A pre-pull pays off only when the demurrage it avoids would cost more than the move, the storage and the extra chassis days.

What has to be in place first

A pre-pull is still a terminal pickup, so the container must be released and available. That means the carrier's freight release (freight paid and the bill of lading surrendered or released, often through a delivery order), CBP release of the entry, and no hold of any kind. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey tells truckers to make sure there are no freight, customer, demurrage or customs holds on a container before picking up an import load. The terminal appointment is booked the same way as for a direct delivery.

Common mistakes

• Waiting for the arrival notice to plan: file the entry and settle the freight release before the vessel arrives, so the pre-pull can happen on the first available day
• Pre-pulling by default: if the dock can receive before the LFD, a direct live unload is cheaper
• Forgetting the empty: the empty still has to go back to the terminal or depot the carrier names, and detention runs until it does
• Paying a demurrage invoice without checking it: under the FMC billing rule (46 CFR part 541) the invoice must show the free time, its start and end dates and the container availability date

Airlift's drayage service books the pickup as soon as the container is available and arranges a pre-pull with the trucker when your receiving date falls after the LFD. Container tracking shows the discharge and availability events the plan is built on.