Destination
Miami to Fort Myers
Across Alligator Alley, and short enough to run live and be back the same day, which keeps detention and per diem out of the conversation entirely.
Get a quote
Tell us the port, the box and the delivery address and we will price Fort Myers both ways where it is worth it.
Or email quotes@dariaslogistics.com.
Last free day today or tomorrow?
The clock runs at the port, not on the road
Demurrage starts at the terminal the day after your last free day, whether the freight is going five miles or five hundred. We pre-pull the container onto the yard first and run to Fort Myers when you are ready, rather than letting the box sit at the terminal earning charges while the receiver sorts out a door.
Straight through
The box goes to Fort Myers
Short enough that the container runs through on a chassis and comes back the same day. No handling, no second touch, and the empty is back before per diem becomes a conversation.
The run from the port to Fort Myers
Fort Myers is about 125 road miles from PortMiami, west across Alligator Alley on I-75 and then north. It is a long day but a same day one, and the container goes through on a chassis rather than being stripped onto a trailer first.
That is the whole point of this lane. At 125 miles a driver can pull the box, run the Alley, unload live and be back at the terminal the same night, which keeps detention and per diem out of the conversation entirely. Push much further north and the arithmetic changes, because a container that sleeps away from the port starts costing by the day.
Delivering in Fort Myers
Fort Myers is the seat of Lee County, on I-75 with the Caloosahatchee River through it and Southwest Florida International Airport on its southern side. A receiver needs a dock or a forklift and a firm ground level approach, plus room for a 40 ft container on a chassis, and needs to be ready when the driver arrives, because a quick live unload is what makes the same day return possible at all.
Send the container number, the steamship line, the last free day, the delivery address and whether it is a live unload or a drop, and say if the freight needs an open deck rather than a box. Knowing the unload time you expect helps as much as the address, because that is the figure the return leg depends on.
What runs it
Everything we run
20ft standard
20' GP / 22G1
20ft high cube
20' HC / 25G1
40ft standard
40' GP / 42G1
40ft high cube
40' HC / 45G1
45ft high cube
45' HC / L5G1
45ft high cube, 102in wide
45' HC wide body, 102in
20ft reefer
20' RF / 22R1
40ft reefer
40' RF / 42R1
40ft high cube reefer
40' RH / 45R1
Open top
20' 22U1 / 40' 42U1
Flat rack
20' / 40' FR
ISO tank
20' tank
Overweight containers
any, over legal gross
Bonded and in-bond
any, under customs bond
Flatbed
The default open deck, in 48ft and 53ft. Loads from the side, the top or the back, and anything over 8ft 6in of cargo height starts needing a permit.
Step deck
A dropped main deck buys about 18 inches of legal cargo height over a flatbed. Also called a drop deck.
Double drop
A fixed well between two raised decks, for tall freight that does not need to be driven on.
Lowboy
The lowest deck there is, for tall and heavy machines. Short well, so length is usually the constraint rather than weight.
Piggyback forklift
A rough-terrain forklift that rides on a mounting kit at the rear of the flatbed and unloads where there is no dock and no site equipment. The freight pays for it twice: in the surcharge and in the payload its weight displaces, which is why it is quoted only where it saves more than it costs.
RGN, removable gooseneck
The gooseneck detaches so the deck becomes a ramp and the machine drives on. Extendable and multi-axle versions carry the heaviest and longest loads we handle.
Stretch flatbed and step deck
Extendable decks for freight that is legal on weight but far too long, like beams, blades and pipe. The deck stretches to support the load rather than letting it overhang.
Multi-axle heavy haul
More axles under the same deck, so the weight spreads far enough to permit. This is where transformers, presses and plant equipment ride.
Conestoga
A rolling tarp on a frame, so freight loads from the side like a flatbed but travels covered like a van. No tarping crew, no weather risk.
Dry van
Enclosed, palletized freight, in 48ft and 53ft. The default for anything transloaded out of a container for an inland run.
Reefer trailer
Temperature-controlled van, in 48ft and 53ft. What a reefer container becomes when the freight transloads for an inland run.
Before it leaves Hialeah Gardens
One warehouse in Hialeah Gardens, over 50 dock doors
Everything that happens off the chassis happens here, in Hialeah Gardens, a short run from the ports, before the freight goes anywhere. Transload, cross-dock, storage, or shipping and receiving in your name. On a short lane like Fort Myers it is usually the answer when the receiver has no dock, rather than a cost question.
What lands on the invoice
- Chassis
- The trailer the container rides on. If it is not where the container is, that is a chassis split and an extra trip.
- Pre-pull
- Collecting the box before you are ready, to stop terminal storage running. Almost always cheaper than the demurrage it avoids.
- Demurrage
- The terminal charging you for cargo sitting inside the gate past the last free day.
The rest of it
Questions
Straight answers
Is a container to Fort Myers really back at PortMiami the same day?
It can be, and that is why this lane runs through on a chassis rather than being transloaded. About 125 road miles each way across Alligator Alley still leaves enough of a shift for a live unload in between. What breaks it is waiting at the door. If your site is first come and busy, or the freight takes hours to come out, plan on a drop instead.
Does Alligator Alley limit what can be sent to Fort Myers?
Not for an ordinary container. I-75 across the Alley is a straightforward run and a standard 40 ft box on a chassis crosses it every day. Where it matters is oversize freight: height, width and weight decide the route and the permits, and both take time to arrange. Send the dimensions and the actual weight if the load is anything out of the ordinary.
How long does it take to get freight from Miami to Fort Myers?
Same day, over roughly 125 road miles. That is the drive; the bigger variable is usually the terminal appointment at the Miami end, not the road.
Should my container go through to Fort Myers, or be transloaded?
Through, on this lane. It is short enough that the box goes and comes back the same day, so there is nothing to gain by handling the freight twice.
Anything particular about the Fort Myers lane?
Across Alligator Alley, and short enough to run live and be back the same day, which keeps detention and per diem out of the conversation entirely.
Do you go beyond Florida?
Yes, all 48 states, generally transloaded to a trailer first.
What is the last free day?
The last day your container can sit inside the terminal before storage charges start. Miss it and demurrage begins accruing daily, which is why a pre-pull is almost always cheaper than waiting.
What is a pre-pull?
We collect the container from the terminal before you are ready for it and hold it on a yard. It stops demurrage running at terminal rates and it takes the pressure off your receiving schedule.
How do I get a rate?
Send the lane, the equipment, the container size and the port, and we come back with a number. Quotes and dispatch run 24 hours a day at quotes@dariaslogistics.com.
What does a drayage quote actually include?
The move itself, plus the accessorials people get surprised by later: chassis, pre-pull, per diem, demurrage, detention and storage. We would rather name them up front than add them to an invoice.