A prepull means picking the container up from the terminal early and holding it in a secure yard until your delivery appointment.
When it makes sense
- The last free day is before your warehouse can receive the container.
- Terminal appointments are scarce, and the container needs to be secured while one is available.
- You want the container staged close to the delivery so it arrives on time on delivery day.
What it adds
- A prepull charge for the extra move into the yard.
- Yard storage for each day the container waits in the yard.
- Chassis days, because the container usually stays on its chassis in the yard.
Example: the last free day is Tuesday and your receiving appointment is Friday. A Tuesday prepull plus 2 days in the yard adds a prepull charge, 2 yard days and about 3 extra chassis days. That’s often less than three days of terminal storage, but the comparison depends on the terminal’s and steamship line’s rates for your container.
On your quote
If you choose a prepull, the quote shows the prepull charge and estimated yard days. Actual yard and chassis days are billed from the real dates. Prepull availability is confirmed for each shipment.