Transloading & Container Devanning Near the Port of Virginia

What transloading is

Transloading means taking freight out of an ocean container and putting it into different equipment for the next leg of its trip. Most often the freight moves from a 20' or 40' container into a 53' domestic trailer, which carries more cargo per load. Freight can be palletized and shrink-wrapped for faster handling at the receiver, or floor-loaded when the goods ship that way. Because it happens close to the port, the ocean container can go back to the terminal quickly while your freight keeps moving.

When shippers use transloading

Transloading is a cost and flexibility tool. It is worth considering whenever the ocean container is the wrong box for the rest of the trip.

• Avoid per diem — return the ocean carrier's container quickly instead of keeping it for a long delivery
• Consolidate — combine freight from several containers into fewer domestic trailers
• Reach inland markets — send freight farther on domestic equipment
• Split overweight containers into legal loads that can travel on the highway
• Sort freight by destination or purchase order before it ships

How DPN's transload flow works

Because we run the trucks and the warehouse, the whole move stays under one plan and one point of contact.

• Dray the container from NIT or VIG to our Portsmouth warehouse with TWIC drivers and pool chassis
• Devan the container and count the freight
• Palletize and shrink-wrap, or keep it floor-loaded, as your receiver requires
• Reload to 53' trailers or other outbound equipment
• Ship outbound on our own fleet or with partner carriers
• Hold containers or trailers on our yard as a buffer when timing does not line up
• Return the empty container promptly to the terminal

Cross-dock vs. transload vs. warehousing

These three services overlap, and the right one depends on how long your freight needs to stay with us. Transloading changes the equipment: freight leaves the ocean container and leaves on domestic equipment, usually within a short window. Cross-docking is about speed: freight moves straight from the inbound dock to the outbound dock with little or no storage. Warehousing is about time: inventory is stored for days or weeks and shipped as orders come in. Many customers mix all three — a transload for one lane, cross-docking for time-sensitive freight, and storage for inventory they are not ready to ship. Because they all run out of the same Portsmouth operation, you can change the plan without changing vendors.

What we handle

We transload standard dry and refrigerated container freight. We do not handle chemical freight or oversize / over-dimensional loads. If your freight falls outside our scope, we will tell you up front.

Service area

Our transload operation serves shippers across Portsmouth, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, Suffolk, Newport News, Hampton and Richmond, with regional and long-haul outbound when the freight needs to go farther. Every account gets a dedicated logistics coordinator and same-day dispatch. Call (757) 406-4613 or email sales@dpnlogistics.net to set up a transload program.