OPERATIONS
Chassis Split
When a container and its chassis are at different locations, requiring the driver to make a separate trip to pick up the chassis before retrieving the container.
A chassis split occurs when the container a drayage carrier needs to pick up is at a different location from the chassis needed to transport it. In a standard drayage move, the carrier arrives at the terminal with a chassis (or picks one up at a chassis pool on-site), slides the chassis under the container, and departs. In a chassis split situation, the container is at one terminal or depot while the only available chassis is at a different location — requiring an extra trip to collect the chassis before retrieving the container.
Chassis splits are a significant operational friction point in US drayage, particularly at busy ports with chronic chassis shortages. They add time, fuel, and cost to the move. Carriers typically charge a chassis split fee ranging from $25 to $75 per occurrence to cover the additional trip. At the Port of New York/New Jersey and the Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach, chassis splits were widespread during the 2020–2022 port congestion crisis, when demand for chassis far exceeded pool availability.
Chassis splits are tracked in the DrayLocator Rate Index as a line-item surcharge for each major port. Shippers can reduce chassis split exposure by booking carriers with company-owned chassis (who are not dependent on pool availability), or by using street turns — arrangements where a carrier returning an empty container "turns" immediately under a new import pickup at the same location, eliminating the need for a chassis altogether.