Überstunden und Leerfahrten wegen mangelhafter Drayage‑Koordination

Definition

Intermodal chains linking ports, rail terminals and inland warehouses depend on synchronised drayage to avoid wasted movements. Australian intermodal operators highlight that poor coordination had historically led to costly overtime and wasted trips to and from ports like Fremantle, before they implemented smarter booking and integrated rail‑truck solutions.[4] Testimonials from shippers report that partnering with a well‑managed intermodal group has solved an “ongoing logistical headache” that previously resulted in “costly overtime charges and wasted trips to and from the port”.[4] Logic based on Australian wage levels suggests that a single wasted port run (truck arrives but container not available, or wrong time slot) can cost 2–3 driver hours plus fuel and tolls, roughly AUD 150–300 per incident. If 3–5% of daily trips in a fleet of 50–100 truck movements are wasted or require overtime, the annual impact easily reaches AUD 100,000–250,000. Rail capacity is also underutilised when bookings are made without accurate container status or when late changes are not propagated; this reduces TEU per train and raises cost per unit moved. Integrated shuttle services and night operations used by Australian providers are explicitly marketed as tools to reduce these inefficiencies by pre‑positioning containers and smoothing flows.[2][4]

Why This Matters

The Pitch: Australian intermodal operators waste thousands of driver hours and AUD 100–300 per wasted truck trip on empty runs and overtime. Optimised planning and integrated TMS use available capacity more efficiently and cut unnecessary movements.

Affected Stakeholders

Fleet manager, Rail operations planner, Dispatch / scheduling team, Depot manager, Finance / cost control

Related Business Risks