Live unload (or live load)
The driver stays with the container while your team unloads it (or loads it, for an export), then takes it away.
- Good when you can unload quickly and have dock space, equipment and people ready at the appointment time.
- On the quote: one delivery trip, and usually one chassis day for a same-day move. A set amount of free waiting time is included. Waiting beyond that is billed as waiting time (driver detention), and your quote shows the terms that apply.
- Tell us the expected unloading time. Floor-loaded cartons can take much longer than palletized freight, and the estimate shapes the quote and the driver’s schedule.
Drop
We deliver the container on its chassis and leave it. When you tell us it’s empty (or loaded, for an export), we come back and pick it up.
- Good when unloading takes a long time, happens outside your usual receiving hours, or your team needs flexibility.
- What it needs: room at your facility to park the container on its chassis, and a safe place for the driver to drop and later hook it.
- What it adds:
- an extra trip, because the truck comes back for the container;
- more chassis days while it sits at your facility;
- the steamship line’s free time for per diem keeps running until the empty is returned.
- How it’s priced: DK Express prices drop moves individually, so a drop request goes to our team for review.
Which one costs less?
It depends on how long unloading really takes. Compare these two:
- Live: waiting time beyond the free period.
- Drop: the extra trip, plus the added chassis days and possible per diem.
A quick unload almost always favors live. A long or unpredictable one often favors a drop.
Not sure?
Choose “Not sure” in the quote form. We’ll ask about your dock, equipment, labor and receiving hours and recommend the most economical option.