Overweight Drayage Guide

Overweight Drayage Guide

What is Overweight Drayage?

In general, drayage refers to the process of shipping products over short distances, normally ground shipping from port to port or from a port or railyard to another destination. In cases with certain products, it can be more efficient and cost-effective to tightly pack products into one container rather than splitting the load up and having to pay to ship multiple containers. Depending on where you’re shipping, there are limits placed on containers, with some of them carrying an “overweight designation” and requiring different processes. If you’re not careful, however, this process can end up mitigating your savings with costs of its own, mostly in the form of permits and potential fines if it’s not done correctly. Since overweight loads can bring about certain safety issues and can put added pressure on roads and bridges, there are regulations in place that should be recognized and adhered to. For this reason, it can be beneficial to partner with a third-party company that deals specifically with overweight shipping processes to maximize efficiency and savings.

Industries/Commodities That Use Overweight Shipping

There are certain types of products that for one reason or another lend themselves better to the process of overweight shipping. For this reason, this practice has been popularized among certain industries to ship their products due to increased efficiency, cost effectiveness, and helping to adhere to certain location-specific regulations. Some of these include:


Products including tile, plumbing fixtures, steel products (beams, nuts, bolts, pipes, etc.), lumber and other wood products

Liquid Products: 

The density of liquid makes overweight container shipping an effective choice across a few different industries for products like beer, wine and spirits, and chemicals

Raw materials:

Materials to make food such as sugar, flour and grains

Heavy Metals: 

Due to heavier environmental regulations in the U.S., many companies melt down lead overseas and ship elsewhere for smelting

Alternative Forms of Overweight Transport

As a trucking company, we deal specifically with ground transportation when it comes to overweight shipping and logistics. However, there are alternatives to ground transport that each have their own processes, some of which rely on us as an intermediary. Certain containers that have an overweight designation can also be transported by airplane, boat, and train. For obvious reasons, their modes of transportation come with their own rules and regulations based on capabilities of different planes, boats, trains, etc. to ensure safe and efficient transport of products. It is important to recognize the entire journey a container will have to take to get to its destination, as certain parts of the process can be more cost effective and require different permits or no permits at all.

What Permits Will You Need?

As mentioned above, the process of overweight shipping necessitates getting some extra permissions in the form of permits, which can be expensive. Considering the area in which we operate, at Dura we deal specifically with shipping permits for the state of California, of which there are quite a few. California Vehicle Code requires an oversize load permit for any loads that exceed certain legal weight or dimensions. This pertains to loads exceeding 14 feet high (Section 35250), 8 feet 6 inches wide (Section 35100), 40 feet long (single), 65′ (truck/trailer), 75′ (multi trailers) (Section 35400 & 35401), or 20,000 lbs/axle (Section 35550). Depending on the frequency and route of the trip, this can be covered by single-trip permits, annual permits, and/or repetitive permits (repeated delivery on the same route). California also requires some location-specific permits depending on where you are shipping. California has a specific area outside of the LA and Long Beach ports called the overweight corridor, a grid of roads that caters specifically to those shipping overweight loads, given they have the necessary permits. To ship through this area you need three permits, one from the LA county, one from the city of LA, and one from the city of Long Beach. If your journey brings you outside of these specific areas it gets more complicated, as you will likely need an additional permit for each specific city or county you are traveling through. Considering all the necessary permits needed and the importance of adhering the regulations, we provide value to our consumers by carrying our own permits and having years of knowledge and experience on how to successfully ship and store overweight containers.

For the reasons mentioned above, the value of a reliable and experienced third part logistics provider for overweight drayage shipping is paramount. At Dura Trucking, we place utmost importance on customer service and communication at all levels of our organization in order to establish the strongest long-term relationships with our customers. We have over 20 years of experience in transportation, warehousing, and distribution and are available 24/7 to assist you throughout the process. Our experience and expertise will allow you to maximize the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of your shipping process and preserve the integrity of your products. If you think our services are right for you, contact us over the phone or on our website to get started with us today!