How to build a drayage rate sheet.

Core structure of a drayage rate sheet

Container drayage rate sheets differ fundamentally from standard freight quotes. While dry van quotes focus on highway mileage, drayage operates across congested terminals, rail ramps, chassis depots, and customer docks. Without accounting for these friction points, fleets absorb facility delays, equipment shortages, and driver detention from operating margins.

A structured rate sheet separates line-haul transport from equipment costs, dock waiting times, and accessorial services, establishing transparent billing for cargo owners, forwarders, and customs brokers.

Organize pricing into four components:

• Base line-haul rates by zone, lane, or distance radius.
• An indexed fuel surcharge formula tied to public diesel benchmarks.
• A standardized accessorial tariff covering equipment, storage, detention, and handling fees.
• Commercial terms covering credit, payment schedules, minimum trip charges, currency, and sales taxes.

Set up your base spreadsheet with eight columns:

• Column A: Zone or Lane Identifier (Zone 1, Zone 2, or corridor code)
• Column B: Origin Facility (terminal, rail ramp, or depot)
• Column C: Destination (postal cluster or municipality)
• Column D: Distance Band (if distance-based)
• Column E: Container Size and Type (twenty-foot, forty-foot, forty-five-foot, fifty-three-foot)
• Column F: Base Line-Haul Rate (CAD or USD)
• Column G: Included Free Time (agreed dock window)
• Column H: Movement Type (import, export, or empty repositioning)

Keep fuel tables, accessorial tariffs, and commercial terms on separate worksheets so you can update weekly indices without rebuilding base rates.

Structuring base line-haul rates by zone, lane, and distance

The base line-haul rate covers tractor power, driver labor, maintenance, and fuel between an intermodal terminal and customer dock. Rates are usually quoted for the whole move, including returning the empty or delivering the loaded export to the terminal.

Carriers typically choose between three pricing models:

• Zone-based pricing: Standard for metropolitan areas around ports and rail ramps. Postal clusters radiate from terminals, letting all deliveries within a cluster share an identical base rate for fast quoting.
• Point-to-point lane pricing: Used for regional moves to inland transfer hubs, reflecting highway mileage, tolls, and driving hours.
• Distance-band pricing: Tiered rates across mileage or kilometre intervals. Apply congestion adjustments to routes through choke points where short distances take excessive transit time.

Equipment size also dictates pricing. Standard forty-foot dry containers serve as the baseline. Twenty-foot containers may carry matching rates or modest discounts, though heavy units require specialized tri-axle chassis. Fifty-three-foot domestic containers and forty-five-foot ocean units require extended equipment and wider turning room, warranting dedicated rate lines.

Designing a transparent fuel surcharge schedule

Diesel prices fluctuate constantly. Absorbing spikes into fixed rates erodes margins, while monthly renegotiations disrupt customer trust. Drayage fleets solve this with an indexed fuel surcharge schedule adjusting automatically against an objective public benchmark.

In Canada, carriers peg surcharges to weekly retail diesel prices from Natural Resources Canada. In the United States, fleets reference weekly highway diesel data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. State explicitly which index, geographic region, and weekday reset schedule apply.

A standard schedule establishes a baseline peg below which no surcharge applies, followed by progressive step intervals. Zone drayage uses a percentage of base line-haul, while regional runs use a per-kilometre or per-mile surcharge.

The following list is an illustrative, made-up example using round numbers to show tier structure; it does not reflect current fuel prices or recommended rates:

• Baseline: 1.20 CAD per litre or lower: 0.0% surcharge
• Tier 1: 1.21 CAD to 1.25 CAD per litre: 2.0% surcharge
• Tier 2: 1.26 CAD to 1.30 CAD per litre: 4.0% surcharge
• Tier 3: 1.31 CAD to 1.35 CAD per litre: 6.0% surcharge
• Tier 4: 1.36 CAD to 1.40 CAD per litre: 8.0% surcharge
• Tier 5: 1.41 CAD to 1.45 CAD per litre: 10.0% surcharge
• Escalation: Each 0.05 CAD increase above 1.45 CAD adds 2.0% to the surcharge.

Specify that fuel surcharges apply exclusively to base line-haul, never to accessorial fees.

Defining accessorial charges to protect your margins

Accessorials cover ancillary services, equipment expenses, and operational delays outside an uninterrupted move. In intermodal drayage, terminal bottlenecks, chassis shortages, customs holds, and warehouse delays absorb fleet capacity daily. If an accessorial is omitted from your tariff, customers assume it is included in your base rate.

Every accessorial entry must define the service, billing increment, trigger condition, and documentation requirements:

• Wait time and detention: Specify dock free time (commonly an hour or two, set by contract). Bill an hourly detention rate in fifteen-minute increments, verified by GPS logs and signed receipts.
• Terminal waiting time: Bill an hourly rate after allowed terminal free time when gate congestion causes delays, supported by gate time-stamps.
• Chassis rental and split fees: Daily fee for carrier chassis. When retrieving or returning chassis at off-dock yards, charge a split fee covering extra transit and gate time.
• Pre-pull and yard storage: Flat pre-pull fee for early container retrieval, plus daily yard storage while staged in your compound.
• Overweight containers: Surcharge for boxes exceeding legal weight limits, covering specialized chassis and permits. Verify current weight limits with relevant transportation authorities.
• Reefer monitoring: Daily genset rental, fuel replenishment, and inspection fees for checking temperature setpoints and fuel levels.
• Dangerous goods: Flat surcharge per container covering hazardous documentation audits, safety placards, and route compliance.
• Tolls and terminal fees: Pass through bridge tolls, highway transit charges, and mandatory terminal reservation fees directly at cost.
• Cancellations and dry runs: Dry run fee when dispatches are cancelled without fleet fault. Include an advance cancellation cutoff window.
• Driver assist: Drayage is standard no-touch freight. If drivers handle cargo or operate pallet jacks, bill an hourly labor rate with an agreed minimum charge.

Commercial terms, minimums, currencies, and Canadian tax rules

Commercial terms and conditions establish clear operational boundaries, preventing billing disputes and overdue receivables.

Establish a minimum trip charge for all dispatches. For short shunts or local moves, standard formulas can fall below basic operating costs. A minimum charge guarantees every dispatch covers driver wages, insurance, fuel, and terminal turn time.

State credit terms, payment deadlines, and late penalties clearly. Specify whether invoices are due upon receipt with signed delivery receipts or under agreed net terms. Detail interest charged on past-due balances.

Include explicit validity dates on every rate sheet. Spot quotes carry short validity windows, whereas contractual tariffs remain active for six months or a year. Include a review clause for labor disruptions, fuel spikes, or regulatory fee adjustments.

State clearly whether rates are quoted in Canadian Dollars (CAD) or United States Dollars (USD). Never mix currencies on a single tariff.

In Canada, sales taxes apply based on destination and movement classification:

• Domestic freight moves are subject to the applicable GST or provincial HST rate of the destination province.
• Local drayage moves forming an unbroken leg of continuous international import or export transport may qualify as zero-rated (taxed at 0%), provided the carrier retains supporting documents such as through bills of lading or customs manifests.
• Because tax rules and documentation requirements vary, check current rules directly with the Canada Revenue Agency and your provincial tax authority before finalizing billing templates.

A complete worked quote example and spreadsheet setup

The following calculation is an illustrative, made-up example using invented round numbers to demonstrate how base rates, fuel surcharges, accessorials, and taxes combine on a drayage invoice. These numbers do not reflect current market rates.

Imagine an import container moving from a marine terminal to an industrial receiver in an adjacent commercial zone:

• Equipment: One forty-foot standard dry container.
• Routing: Marine terminal to consignee warehouse in Zone 2, returning empty to an off-dock depot.
• Base line-haul: 450.00 CAD (includes two hours of live unload free time).
• Fuel surcharge: Illustrative 12.0% tier on 450.00 CAD equals 54.00 CAD.
• Chassis fees: Split fee of 75.00 CAD plus one-day rental of 40.00 CAD equals 115.00 CAD.
• Facility detention: Dock time was 3.5 hours. Deducting two hours free time leaves 1.5 billable hours. At an illustrative 90.00 CAD per hour, detention equals 135.00 CAD.
• Pre-pull and yard storage: Pre-pull fee of 100.00 CAD plus two days storage at 50.00 CAD per day equals 200.00 CAD.
• Operational subtotal: Base rate (450.00 CAD), fuel (54.00 CAD), chassis (115.00 CAD), detention (135.00 CAD), and storage (200.00 CAD) total 954.00 CAD.
• Sales tax: At an illustrative 5.0% GST (without zero-rating), 5.0% GST on 954.00 CAD equals 47.70 CAD.
• Total invoice: 954.00 CAD plus 47.70 CAD equals 1,001.70 CAD.

In your spreadsheet, organize workbooks into functional tabs: Tab 1 for base rates, Tab 2 for accessorial tariffs, and Tab 3 for fuel scales. Use data validation dropdowns for zones, container sizes, and accessorial codes to prevent clerical errors and ensure clean exports into dispatch systems.

Frequently asked questions

How often should a drayage carrier update its fuel surcharge table?

Many carriers update fuel surcharges weekly, after the index is published. In Canada, Natural Resources Canada updates retail diesel prices weekly; in the United States, the U.S. Energy Information Administration does the same. A regular schedule ensures transparency and protects margins from sudden price jumps.

What is the difference between terminal demurrage and carrier yard storage?

Demurrage is a penalty charged by a terminal or rail ramp when a container exceeds allowed free time on facility property. Yard storage is an accessorial fee charged by the carrier for holding a container in its secure compound. Pre-pulling containers avoids steep terminal penalties by moving boxes into carrier storage.

When does a drayage move qualify as zero-rated for Canadian GST or HST?

A domestic drayage move may be zero-rated (0% tax) if it forms an unbroken leg of continuous international transport originating outside Canada or destined for export. Carriers must retain proof of continuous carriage, such as through bills of lading or customs manifests. Check current requirements with the Canada Revenue Agency.

Should customer wait time be billed from the scheduled appointment or actual arrival?

Many carriers calculate detention from the later of the appointment time and the actual arrival, so a driver who arrives early is not billed for the early wait. Write your rule into your terms. Automated GPS geofence logs and signed delivery receipts make detention charges verifiable and defensible.

Why is a chassis split fee billed separately from the daily chassis rental?

Daily chassis rental covers equipment use and maintenance for the calendar day. A chassis split fee compensates the carrier for additional tractor transit, fuel, and gate queues when picking up or terminating a chassis at a separate depot. Because it requires a separate trip, it is billed as an independent expense.

Where Dispatch Board fits

Dispatch Board can import your rate sheet from Excel, CSV or a PDF, then apply it: rate profiles, tariffs, accessorial rules and a fuel surcharge table all feed a billing queue of loads ready to invoice, with credit memos and aging. Prices can be in Canadian or US dollars, with GST, HST, QST and PST handled on invoices, and distance in kilometres or miles.

Waiting time that supports an accessorial comes from the waiting-time audit, which uses GPS pings in the geofence and wait documents, and a missed-charge finder flags loads that left out something billable. Try it free for 14 days with your own rates.

This guide is general information from the Dispatch Board team, not legal, tax or accounting advice. Rules and rates change: confirm against the official source linked in the text before you rely on them.