What it costs
What a pre-pull costs against a day of demurrage
A pre-pull is one extra move: we collect the container before your dock is ready and hold it on our yard until it is. It exists because demurrage stops when the box leaves the terminal, and demurrage bills per container per day and escalates the longer the box sits. The pre-pull is a fixed cost paid once. The demurrage is a rising cost paid daily. That is the whole comparison, and this page walks through when it wins and when it does not.
The arithmetic, stated plainly
On one side: terminal demurrage, billed for every day between your last free day and the day you can actually receive the freight. Terminal tariffs commonly step the rate up in bands, so a long stay costs more per day at the end than at the start.
On the other side: one pre-pull, priced in the table below, plus yard storage where the first day is free and the days after are flat. Our pre-pull costs less than a single day of demurrage at the bottom of the market range, and the yard days do not escalate.
So the comparison is a fixed cost plus a flat daily against a rising daily. For a one-day delay it can go either way. For three days it is not close. For a week the pre-pull wins by multiples.
What a pre-pull does not stop
It does not stop per diem. The shipping line's clock on its container starts at gate-out, so a pre-pull starts per diem at the same moment it stops demurrage. If the box then sits on our yard for two weeks, the line is billing you for its equipment the entire time.
This matters for the arithmetic because per diem runs whether the box sits at the terminal or on our yard. The pre-pull's saving is the difference between escalating terminal storage and flat yard storage, not the elimination of all daily charges. If the delay is long and the freight is going far inland, the answer that stops both clocks is a transload: cargo out of the box, empty returned early.
When the pre-pull wins
When the gap between your last free day and your first receiving day is more than a day or two, and the box is clear to move. Every day in that gap is a day of demurrage avoided, against yard storage that starts free and stays flat.
When a customs exam or a paperwork delay makes the receiving date uncertain. Uncertainty is expensive at terminal rates and cheap on a yard, and a box already pulled cannot be caught by a terminal rate band stepping up.
When the delivery itself needs a specific morning, a crane, a crew. Pre-pulled freight delivers on your schedule instead of the terminal's, which is worth money even before demurrage enters the picture.
When leaving it is the right call
When your dock genuinely opens inside the free time and the delivery is short and local. A container booked early that delivers straight from the terminal on day three of five free days needs no pre-pull, and moving a box twice to solve a problem you do not have is just a cost.
When the container is under a hold you cannot clear. A box that is not released cannot be pulled, and the pre-pull conversation is the wrong conversation until the hold is answered.
When the arithmetic is genuinely marginal. A pre-pull consumes a terminal appointment like any other pull, and a saving of less than one demurrage day is not always worth the slot. Send us the last free day, the first day your dock can receive, and whether the box is clear, and the answer falls out of those three facts.
The numbers
| Line | From | Conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-pull | $150 за контейнер | |
| Аренда шасси | $25 в день | |
| Хранение на площадке | $50 в день | Первый день бесплатно |
Every figure above is a starting anchor, not a firm price. The real charges can differ once we see the move, and every rate is confirmed in writing before anything moves.
A live number for your move
Going deeper
The other price questions
The services these numbers belong to
Вопросы
Прямые ответы
Is a pre-pull cheaper than demurrage?
Almost always, once the delay passes a day or two. Our pre-pull is a one-time charge below a single day of demurrage at market rates, yard storage starts with the first day free, and demurrage bills every day and escalates. The longer the delay, the more decisively the pre-pull wins.
Does the pre-pull stop the shipping line's per diem?
No. Per diem runs from gate-out until the empty is returned, so the pre-pull starts that clock at the moment it stops demurrage. If both clocks are the problem, the answer is a transload: cargo onto a trailer, empty back to the line early.
How long can the container sit on your yard?
As long as you need. The first day is free and the days after bill at the flat rate in the table, without the escalating bands a terminal tariff applies. Remember that the line's per diem keeps running while the box sits, wherever it sits.
What do you need from me to decide?
Three facts: the last free day, the first day your dock can receive, and whether the container is clear to move. If the gap is more than a day or two and the box is clear, pre-pull. If the gap is zero, leave it. If the box is not clear, that problem comes first.