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Are you interested in picking up local intermodal freight? Download the free DrayNow app from the App Store or Google Play store, or click the button below.

The Power of Street Turns

One of the great benefits of using the DrayNow app is getting access to our freight marketplace and seeing all of the power only loads in your area. Since all of the freight is local, carriers can have the option to take multiple intermodal loads in one day and still get home at the end of the day. To make life even easier, since carriers can see all of these loads in one place, they can potentially set up street turn opportunities and make quite a productive day on the road.

What exactly is a street turn? It’s when a carrier uses a container from one trip (let’s say a delivery), and instead of bringing the empty container back to the rail, they use it for a pickup. The carrier gets to make money from both loads while running less miles. Of course, there are always going to be limitations where not every load can be used for a street turn, but having the option is a great benefit to intermodal trucking.

How can carriers figure out a street turn? Most loads available for street turns have similar appointment windows and have stops relatively close to one another. Check out the appointment times and locations on each load to determine whether they’d okay to match up. And also make sure that both loads have the same type of container, whether that is a UMXU, EMHU, etc.

For example, let’s say there’s a delivery with a UMXU container originating in Chicago and headed to the consignee in Oshkosh that a carrier took from the DrayNow marketplace. They also see a pickup out of Fond du Lac with a similar appointment window, UMXU container, and that pickup is headed back to Chicago. After letting DrayNow know that they plan to street turn the drayage container, the carrier can take both loads from the load board, and have a very successful trip through Wisconsin and back.

So just to reiterate, if you plan to street turn an empty container on the DrayNow intermodal load board app, here’s what you need to do:

• You need to make sure that you let us know in advance so that we can confirm it’ll work out.
• The stops should be in similar locations so that you aren’t showing up late for an appointment.
• The containers needed for each trip have to be the same type (UMXU, EMHU, CSXU, etc.).

Now that you have all of this information in hand, next time you’re on the DrayNow app, look out for the next opportunity to let us know you’re ready to do a street turn!