drayage trucking companies.

when $750,000 applies

For-hire property carriers in interstate or foreign commerce operating vehicles of 10,001 lbs or more GVWR/GCWR, not transporting the hazardous materials listed in 49 CFR 387.9.

FMCSA cargo-carried codes used as hints

• code 12 — Intermodal containers

UIIA / interchange

Uniform Intermodal Interchange and Facilities Access (UIIA) and ocean-carrier interchange rules are industry contracts. They are not FMCSA operating authority. A carrier can have active MC authority and still be shut out of a terminal.

the box is intermodal; the highway move is still a motor carrier

Census cargo class 12 is intermodal containers. That checkbox is the closest FMCSA hint for port and ramp drayage. It is not a terminal appointment, not UIIA, and not a chassis-pool agreement.

If the box crosses a state line, you need interstate operating authority. A same-port, same-state move can be intrastate. Match the lane to the grant on L&I. A USDOT number alone is not interstate authority.

Cargo class 12 mixes long-haul intermodal and true port dray. Ask interchange, chassis, and appointment for this terminal.

UIIA and interchange are not FMCSA

Uniform Intermodal Interchange and Facilities Access (UIIA) and ocean-carrier or railroad interchange rules are industry contracts. A carrier can have Active MC authority and still be shut out of a terminal. Ask interchange status for this port or ramp before you cover a last-free-day box.

Chassis provider, per-diem, and flip charges belong in writing on the rate confirmation. FMCSA BI&PD does not decide who pays the ocean line for a late return.

TWIC, port badges, and terminal-specific safety videos are access control. They are not on QCMobile. If the driver cannot enter, the authority check was not the whole job.

appointments, last free day, and street turns

Last free day is a clock. Booking a highway van who “can grab a chassis” without an appointment is how per-diem starts. Confirm terminal appointment, chassis source, and empty-return location.

Street turns and dual transactions are operational wins when they are real. They are identity risks when a second, unverified truck takes the empty. The motor carrier on the rate con owns the interchange. Do not split that across a text-thread helper.

Overweight containers and out-of-gauge are permit and chassis problems. Interstate authority does not include a overweight port exit. Ask gross and commodity before you send the driver.

insurance still follows 387.9 plus the contract

Typical interstate property dray still sees the $750,000 BI&PD floor unless the commodity is a 387.9 HM row. Ports also impose contractual auto and cargo minimums that can exceed the federal floor. Read the interchange and the shipper contract.

Container contents can be high-value. Cargo limits should cover the box, not only the chassis. Named insured must be the motor carrier, not a dispatcher DBA.

equipment and desk questions

• Interstate or intrastate for this port/ramp move, and is the matching authority Active?
• UIIA or terminal interchange current for this ocean line or railroad?
• Appointment time, chassis provider, and empty return — in writing?
• Driver TWIC / port badge if this terminal requires it?
• Last free day and who pays per-diem if the appointment slips?
• Cargo and auto limits the port or BCO requires, named to this MC?

active MC, no UIIA, box on last free day

Do not send them. Authority is not interchange. Find a carrier already on UIIA for that line, or wait until interchange is current — knowing last free day may already have passed.

van MC offers to “hook a chassis at the port”

Ask interchange, chassis, and whether they have ever pulled this terminal. A dry-van census record is not drayage capability. If they cannot name the terminal gate process, pass.

desk checklist

• Active interstate authority if the box crosses state lines.
• Current UIIA or terminal-specific interchange — ask, do not infer from DOT status.
• Chassis provider and per-diem responsibility in writing.

common mistakes

• Treating an active BMC-91 as permission to pull a box from the port.
• Booking a long-haul van carrier for a same-day terminal appointment.