Amazon Relay has domestic drayage work that Relay carriers book and haul every day. Since these loads are to and from rail hubs, they can be shorter and easier for carriers to plan – typically less than 3 hours of driving one way.
Like to keep it local? Keep reading to see if your company’s drayage service is a fit for Relay, or if a UIIA addendum should be a part of your business.
What is intermodal transportation?
“Intermodal” means multiple modes of transport. An intermodal load passes from a truck to a train or ship before it’s back on a truck for its final leg. Intermodal work requires a certification from the Uniform Intermodal Interchange Agreement (UIIA) and specialized equipment to move containers from ports or railyards.
If you have a Class 8 truck and you’re used to the feel of a 53’ trailer, consider expanding your operations into drayage.
Intermodal equipment
- Drayage truck: Our intermodal loads are power-only, so all carriers need is a driver and a Class 8 truck that meets Relay standards.
- Chassis: Essentially, this is a dolly to transfer the container to your truck. It’s a wheeled frame linking railroads to over-the-road equipment. Amazon partners with railroads to provide the chassis for all shipments, so carriers don’t pay rental charges when they use rail ramps. At our facilities, everything will be on the chassis. Select rail ramps are live load, where a carrier will grab from a chassis pool.
- 53’ intermodal containers: Big metal crates built to transport goods. Amazon has no requirement to bring a container into a railyard to swap assets. While most brokerages are managed trailer pools, we allow drivers to bobtail into pick-up.
What is drayage?
It’s a type of intermodal work that includes rail yards or ports, and requires special equipment and UIIA certification to haul. In trucking, domestic drayage shipments are over-the-road moves for 53’ containers. Amazon uses drayage for big fulfillment replenishments. Here’s what that looks like.
- Fewer carbon emissions: Because drayage routes are often shorter, they can be better for the environment. Rail drayage reduces greenhouse gases by about 75% compared to only trucking. It helps Amazon along in its contributions to The Climate Pledge, our shared commitment to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.
- Short distances: Domestic drayage involves quick trips to get containers further along in their journey. Relay carriers run drayage loads between Amazon sites and rail ramps, and vice versa. Each drayage run is one shift, so even if carriers add multiple moves, drivers are typically home by the end of the day.
- Drop hook: For the most part, Amazon’s intermodal work saves time using drop/drop with pre-loaded containers already on the chassis when the driver arrives. Certain ramps are live load only, but carriers will know ahead of time when they sign a railroad’s addendum. The difference? In a live load, a driver will pick up a chassis first, then the railroad will use a crane to lower a container onto the chassis.
Example of drayage
A warehouse in Los Angeles loads a 53’ intermodal container on a chassis. A Relay carrier takes that load to a railyard in LA. The railyard moves the container from the chassis to a railcar, and sends it on its way to Chicago. Once it hits the railyard in Chicago, the container gets back on a chassis and another trucking company takes it to a warehouse in Chicago.
Amazon’s container drayage
Amazon domestic drayage takes the middle man out of intermodal trucking. We’re bringing domestic drayage to the masses.
- Trip type: Approved Relay carriers can book one-way shipments and two-leg tours on Relay for either empty or loaded shipments.
- Load type: Our drayage includes loads that are picked up and dropped off at railyards, and some over-the-road loads between Amazon locations. There’s no need for pre-work or post-work. What you sign up for is all that we require you to do.
How to find drayage loads
All of Amazon’s intermodal work can be booked on desktop or Relay’s mobile app, available on iOS or Android. Here’s how.
- Load board: A lot of Amazon’s drayage loads are spot freight, allowing carriers to cherry pick upcoming work that fits their business. To filter power-only container work on Relay’s load board, drayage carriers just search by container equipment type and their relevant rail certifications.
- Contracts: Book weeks to months of work for predictable schedules. You can reserve blocks of drayage to receive payout for chunks of time, even if Amazon doesn’t use the full duration.
- Post A Truck: If loads are available that meet your criteria, you can build an order to auto-tender at your prescribed rate. Say you want to combine a bunch of 5-mile moves (intermodal tends to move fast). You can stack loads that start around the same time and wait for the match.
Amazon’s intermodal qualifications
We get a direct feed from UIIA confirming that carriers are certified with the organization. So, once carriers are chassis-safe and ready to haul, we’ll automatically enable their company to access loads for the addendum they have filed in our portal. Amazon also requires approved Relay carriers to take our online intermodal safety training before booking drayage loads.
To maximize business growth opportunities with domestic drayage, we also recommend:
- Getting addendums with all Amazon railroad providers added to your UIIA certification. There’s no cost to add railroad addendums. Some railroads might run a credit check.
- There might be additional insurance requirements for intermodal loads. Some companies have exclusions, so carriers should check with their insurance agent. Most rail addendums often require worker’s compensation coverage.
Conduct your company’s rail loads on Relay
Amazon Relay’s domestic drayage opportunities are expanding every day. Ready to apply? Start your sign-up on desktop, and download the Relay Mobile App on iOS or Android to track your application on the go. For more on how to become a drayage carrier for Amazon, see our FAQ.
Disclaimer: Amazon does not tender loads through any third-party load boards. Any Amazon loads posted on third-party load boards will only be tendered directly to approved and onboarded carriers via the Relay web portal or Relay mobile app. If you are interested in hauling loads for Amazon, sign up and book directly on relay.amazon.com.
