Drayage & Port Operations
Drayage in Los Angeles / Long Beach.
The San Pedro Bay complex moves more containers than any gateway in the Western Hemisphere — and burns more free time, per diem, and chassis money than any of them too. HOP runs LA/LGB drayage as a discipline: LFD countdowns on every box, appointment strategy by terminal, and pre-pull plays ready before the terminal gets ugly.
Operating notes: LA/LGB
How we run this gateway. Reviewed by HOP operations leadership.
Free time & LFD
Terminal free time at the complex typically runs around 4 working days from availability, but PierPass windows, dual-transaction requirements, and appointment scarcity at peak make the usable window smaller than the printed one. We track every container against its actual last free day, not the paper one.
Chassis & equipment
The pool-of-pools keeps chassis fluid in normal months and scarce in surges. For committed programs we secure dedicated chassis capacity so a hot container never waits on wheels.
Congestion patterns
Vessel bunching after trans-Pacific disruptions shows up here first. When dwell climbs, our default play is early pre-pull to yard — trading a known yard cost for an unknown demurrage bill.
What the countdown looks like.
A live LFD countdown runs on every HOP container — here’s the LA/LGB view of our demo dashboard.
| Container | Last free day | Days left | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| HOPU 439563-2 | Jul 18 | 2d | 2d — At terminal |
| HOPU 782554-0 | Jul 13 | Appointment set | |
| HOPU 961168-8 | Jul 13 | Pre-pulled | |
| HOPU 483452-9 | Jul 12 | 1d | 1d — At terminal |
Estimate your per diem exposure at LA/LGB with our calculator
Common questions
How many days of free time do containers get at LA/Long Beach?
Typically around 4 working days from container availability, varying by terminal and alliance. The operative number is the last free day on your specific container — which is what HOP tracks, container by container.
How do you avoid per diem at LA/Long Beach?
Countdown discipline: every container tracked against LFD, appointments and chassis secured before availability, pre-pull to yard when terminal conditions threaten the window, and empty returns planned like deliveries.
Do you handle transloading near the ports?
Yes — we coordinate transload from marine containers into domestic trailers with facilities positioned for the San Pedro Bay complex, connected to over-the-road capacity on the same data layer.
Moving containers through LA/LGB?
Tell us your volume and lanes — we’ll show you the countdown running on your freight.
Talk to Our Team