What is carrier haulage?

Inland transport of a container that the shipping line arranges between the port and the customer's premises, billed as part of its freight.

What is merchant haulage?

Inland transport the shipper or consignee arranges itself, hiring its own haulier to collect the container from the port or deliver it there.

Which is cheaper, carrier or merchant haulage?

It varies by lane. Merchant haulage gives more control over the haulier and price; carrier haulage bundles the inland leg into one rate — Maersk says the extras it replaces average USD 285 per US move.

Term

Carrier haulage and merchant haulage

Carrier haulage means the shipping line arranges the container's inland transport between the port and the shipper's or consignee's premises; merchant haulage means the customer arranges it. The choice changes who books the truck, how the charge appears, and who answers for delays: under carrier haulage the line bills the inland leg on its bill of lading.

Also called carrier haulage, merchant haulage, store door delivery, carrier haulage vs merchant haulageUpdated 13 October 2026

The difference

	Carrier haulage	Merchant haulage
Who books the truck	The shipping line	The shipper or consignee
How it is billed	An inland charge on the line's bill of lading	Separately, by the haulier
Control over timing	The line plans it	The customer plans it with the haulier

Maersk's own example is an import through Rotterdam to a warehouse in Düsseldorf: under merchant haulage the importer contracts a local haulier for the inland leg; under carrier haulage Maersk arranges it as part of the service.

Worked example: the extras on a US merchant-haulage move

Maersk's US list of extras a trucker may add under CY (merchant) service: driver waiting USD 85 an hour after the first hour · chassis split USD 75 · congestion USD 85 an hour → one extra hour of waiting and one chassis split = USD 160

Maersk says such fees add an average of USD 285 to the trucking rate, and that its carrier-haulage service files them as one inland rate on the bill of lading instead.

Detention, demurrage and liability

Detention can run under either arrangement — Hapag-Lloyd's US rules list it under merchant haulage and carrier haulage alike. And when a merchant asks a line to arrange inland carriage outside its own carriage, Maersk's bill of lading terms say the line acts as agent only, with no liability for that carriage.

The mistake people make

Assuming carrier haulage moves every charge to the line. Under Hapag-Lloyd's US rules, demurrage caused by events beyond the carrier's control is still billed to the merchant, even on carrier haulage.

FAQ