From the port, to your door.
Drayage is the short, critical leg that connects ocean and rail freight to the road. RS Group moves containers between the Port of Savannah, the Atlanta rail ramps and your facility — staging them through our 80,000 sq ft warehouse so nothing sits at the terminal racking up fees.
Logistics for short distances
Drayage is the move that bridges the water and the highway. A container comes off a ship or a train, and something has to carry it the short distance to a warehouse, a rail ramp, or your loading dock. That short haul is drayage — and getting it wrong is where demurrage, per-diem and missed appointments come from.
The Southeast runs on the Port of Savannah, one of the busiest container ports in North America. From there, most freight heads inland to Atlanta — about 250 miles up I-16 and I-75, or along the rail corridors served by the region’s intermodal ramps. RS Group works that lane every day, moving 20 ft and 40 ft containers, loaded and empty, in both directions.
What sets our drayage apart is the warehouse in the middle. Because we operate an 80,000 sq ft facility in Atlanta, we can dray a container off the port before free time expires, unload or transload it on our own schedule, and stage the freight for its next leg — instead of leaving it to sit at the terminal or on a chassis while the charges climb.
Three ways we move your container
Port, rail and warehouse — combined into whatever routing gets your freight where it is going for the least cost.
Warehouse to port
We move loaded and empty containers between your facility — or our Atlanta warehouse — and the terminals at the Port of Savannah, handling the pickup, chassis, and gate scheduling so your freight makes its vessel or clears the yard on time.
Intermodal
When rail is the smarter leg, we combine ocean, rail and truck into one intermodal move — container off the ship, onto the rail network, and drayed the final miles by truck. It is often the lower-cost, lower-emission option for the inland haul.
Truck to rail
We connect the road and the rails — drayage between your dock and the Atlanta intermodal ramps (CSX and Norfolk Southern), so a container can shift modes without you coordinating two separate carriers.
Why ship your drayage with us
A container touches a lot of hands between the ship and your dock. We keep it moving and keep the fees off your invoice.
Staged through our warehouse
Our 80,000 sq ft Atlanta facility sits between the port and your door. Containers can be drayed in, unloaded, transloaded and stored — so you are not paying demurrage at the terminal or per-diem on a chassis while you sort out the next leg.
Demurrage and per-diem, watched
Free time at the port and on the chassis runs out fast. We track the clock on every container and prioritize the moves that are about to incur charges — the difference between a clean invoice and a stack of fees.
One point of contact
Ocean, rail, chassis, the terminal and the final-mile truck each speak a different language. We coordinate all of them so you make one call and get one status — not four.
What our customers say
- Inc. 5000 · #799 America's fastest-growing private companies (2024)
- TSA IAC Indirect Air Carrier status
- 6,200+ Vetted carrier partners
- 1,400+ Containers drayed from port to door
I have been working with Brent and his team for almost a year and the experience has been nothing but positive.
The best part of working with RS Group is the customer service you can expect to receive.
RS Group, to me, represents the pinnacle in customer service.
Drayage questions
The questions Southeast shippers ask us most about port and rail drayage.
What is drayage?
Drayage is the short-distance move of a shipping container — typically between a port, a rail ramp, and a nearby warehouse or destination. It is the crucial first and last leg that connects ocean and rail freight to the road.
For Southeast shippers, most drayage runs between the Port of Savannah and inland points like Atlanta, roughly 250 miles away by I-16 and I-75, or via the intermodal rail ramps in between.
Do you move containers from the Port of Savannah?
Yes. Savannah is one of the busiest container ports in the country and our primary drayage lane. We handle pickups from the Garden City and Ocean terminals, manage chassis and gate appointments, and dray containers to your facility, to the rail ramps, or to our Atlanta warehouse for staging.
We move both 20 ft and 40 ft containers, loaded and empty, and coordinate the return of empties to avoid per-diem charges.
What is the difference between drayage and intermodal?
Drayage is the truck leg — the short haul that moves a container to or from a port or rail ramp. Intermodal is the full journey that combines two or more modes (ocean, rail, truck) into one shipment, with drayage as the trucking piece at each end.
On a Savannah-to-Atlanta move, for example, a container might travel by rail most of the way and be drayed the final miles by truck. We build whichever combination is cheapest and fastest for your freight.
How do I avoid demurrage and per-diem charges?
Demurrage is charged when a container sits at the terminal past its free time; per-diem is charged when you keep the carrier’s chassis or container too long. Both add up quickly.
Staging through our Atlanta warehouse is the usual answer — we dray the container out before demurrage starts, unload or transload it on our schedule, and return equipment promptly. We watch the free-time clock on every container so nothing sits and racks up fees.
Get your container moving.
Send us the container and terminal details and where it needs to go — we'll handle the chassis, the appointment and the haul, and stage it in Atlanta if you need the time.