Platton is the #1 import-focused forwarder in the US, and our Los Angeles drayage pulls your container from every major San Pedro Bay terminal, handles the chassis, books the appointment and delivers to your warehouse, a transload facility or the rail ramp. Same-day pickup, planned appointments and fast empty returns keep demurrage and per diem off your bill. Get instant, live pricing on Platton's AI-driven platform, with real-time container tracking and automated documents from booking to empty return.
The Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach share San Pedro Bay, and together they form the largest container port complex in the Western Hemisphere. Platton handles drayage from all major container terminals across both ports.
On the Los Angeles side, that includes Pier 400 (APM Terminals), TraPac, Yusen Terminals (YTI), Everport, West Basin Container Terminal, and Fenix Marine Services.
On the Long Beach side, that includes Long Beach Container Terminal (LBCT) at Middle Harbor, International Transportation Service (ITS), Pacific Container Terminal, SSA Marine at Pier A, and Total Terminals International (TTI) at Pier T.
Each terminal has its own appointment system, gate procedures and dwell rules. We book the appointments and follow every terminal's rules, so the pickup goes out on schedule.
With Platton you get instant, live pricing with every charge named before you book, and the rate locks at booking. Platton uses compliant drayage equipment for every move and includes the related Clean Truck Fund Rate in transparent quotes, so importers see the real landed cost up front rather than discovering it as a surprise line item. Across the market, Inland Empire runs are extended drays of 50 to 150 miles and typically cost $600 to $1,300 per container. In our comparison of port-by-port drayage costs, Los Angeles and Long Beach rank higher on price pressure because of appointment scarcity, terminal fees and peak queues.
Common moves include local Inland Empire delivery to fulfillment warehouses, transload from ocean container to domestic truck for nationwide distribution, and intermodal rail eastbound to Dallas, Memphis, Chicago, and other inland markets. Choose the one that fits your freight, or let us tell you which one costs less.
If your warehouse is in Southern California, direct delivery is simpler and cheaper. Your container leaves the terminal and goes straight to your dock in Ontario, Fontana, Riverside or anywhere else in Southern California, and the empty goes back to the carrier on schedule.
Going further inland? We dray your container to the rail ramp for the intermodal run east to Dallas, Memphis, Chicago and other inland markets, which often costs less than a long truck haul. When the box reaches Chicago, Platton's drayage in Chicago takes it the final miles to your door.
Drayage in Los Angeles operates inside the constraints of the chassis pools at the two ports. The shared Pool of Pools ended on June 30, 2026, and each chassis provider now runs its own pool.
Platton moves 20-foot, 40-foot, 40-foot high cube and 45-foot containers, on standard chassis or on specialized chassis when the box calls for one. Our guide to chassis fees breaks down what a chassis adds to the bill.
Free time at Los Angeles and Long Beach goes fast. Once it ends, demurrage can run $150 to $500 a day per container, and the carrier's per diem bills you separately for every extra day the container stays out of the terminal.
Here is how Platton keeps those charges off your bill:
Across Platton drayage, the average is $280 in fees saved per container. To see how these charges work, read about container detention and per diem.
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Platton port drayage runs across 42 US ports and rail ramps on one AI-driven platform. See how Platton container drayage works across the country.
Every shipment runs on the same platform: real-time container tracking, automated documentation and live quotes.
Through San Pedro Bay we move freight for importers in retail, e-commerce, manufacturing and the other industries we serve, backed by our memberships in WCA, JCtrans and NCBFAA.
1. Share the container details. Send us the port, the terminal if you know it, the container number, size and weight, and the delivery address.
2. Approve the live quote. Once you book, the rate is fixed for the move.
3. We plan the pickup. Our AI-driven platform follows the vessel, the discharge and your container's availability, and once the box is ready we pull it with the chassis, the terminal appointment and the truck already in place.
4. Delivery and empty return. Your container goes to your dock, the transload facility or the rail ramp, the empty goes back to the carrier on time, and you follow every milestone in real time through cargo tracking.
Platton has weekly sailings into LA and Long Beach, booked with Maersk, MSC, CMA CGM, Evergreen and Hapag-Lloyd. Add Platton drayage to your ocean freight and FCL imports from Asia and Europe. On the China to Los Angeles lane, transit runs 13 to 18 days port to port from Shanghai, Ningbo, Yantian or Shekou. We also ship from Vietnam, India and Europe.
Selling on Amazon? Pair the drayage with Amazon FBA shipping and FBA prep for labels, poly bagging and pallet compliance. Cargo going inland can be transloaded in the basin onto domestic FTL or LTL trucks through Platton's warehouse services.
Looking for the full freight forwarding picture in the city? Visit our freight forwarder in Los Angeles page.
Platton runs 93% same-day port pickup, so in most cases your container leaves the terminal the day it becomes available. From gate-out to delivery, the average is 36 hours.
Look for a company that serves every major terminal at both ports, books the chassis with the terminal appointment, can pre-pull a container ahead of your delivery appointment and names the Clean Truck Fund Rate in the quote. Ask how it tracks each move from terminal pickup to empty return.
It depends on the distance to your dock, the container's size and weight, chassis days, fuel, the Clean Truck Fund Rate and any waiting time at the terminal or at delivery.
Yes, it is in every Platton quote. It is a charge the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach collect on loaded containers that enter or leave the terminals by truck. The cargo owner pays it, and the money goes toward cleaner drayage trucks.
We do. Platton lines up a chassis, standard or specialized, for every pickup and works with the chassis pools at the ports on your behalf, so the chassis is booked alongside the terminal appointment.
Yes. We dray to the rail ramp for the intermodal run east to Dallas, Memphis, Chicago and other inland markets, or we transload in the basin and send the freight on by domestic truck.
You can follow every move in real time on Platton's platform, from vessel arrival and terminal pickup to delivery and empty return. You see the same milestones our team sees.
Tell us where your container lands and where it needs to go. Platton gives you instant live pricing, real-time tracking and automated documents. Our drayage runs at 97.4% on-time delivery and 93% same-day pickup. Want to talk it through before you book? Email cs@platton.ai.
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