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Import dates

Vessel ETA

Expected vessel arrival.

It is a planning date, not a container pickup appointment.

Discharge

The container has been unloaded from the vessel.

Availability

The container is shown as available for pickup, subject to required releases/holds.

Last Free Day — LFD

The applicable last day before the relevant free-time charge begins.

Confirm whose LFD/free time you are looking at.

Appointment

Terminal time window for the truck transaction where required.

An appointment does not automatically clear customs or carrier holds.

Export dates

ERD — Earliest Receiving Date

The first planned date the terminal will accept the export container for the sailing.

Cutoff

The deadline for the container and/or required documentation to meet the intended sailing.

A container delivered too early can be rejected.

A container delivered too late can miss the vessel.

Appointments are terminal-specific

There is no single U.S. port appointment system.

At Los Angeles/Long Beach, PierPASS says each member terminal manages its own appointment system.

Its 2026 operating report states that appointments are required for full import containers under the OffPeak framework.

Other terminals and ports use different platforms and rules.

Always use the actual terminal's current instructions.

Why “wait until LFD” is dangerous

Appointment capacity is finite.

PierPASS has specifically cautioned truckers not to wait until the last free day because an appointment may not be available then.

Operationally, the plan should be:

available → verify releases → appointment as early as practical → pickup

not:

wait until free time is almost gone → try to find a slot

The three statuses you should never confuse

Vessel status

Where the ship/container is in the vessel cycle.

Release/availability status

Whether the container can legally/operationally leave.

Appointment status

Whether the terminal has allocated a truck transaction time.

You need all applicable pieces.

Import example

ETA: Monday Discharged: Tuesday Customs released: Wednesday Terminal available: Wednesday LFD: Friday Appointment: Thursday 19:00

That is a healthy sequence.

Now change one fact:

Appointment: none available until Monday

That immediately becomes an escalation item because the appointment date is past the stated LFD.

Document the appointment attempts and contact the appropriate terminal/carrier parties promptly.

Export example

ERD: Wednesday Cutoff: Friday 16:00 Shipper loads: Tuesday

Problem: the box is ready before the terminal receiving window.

A pre-loaded export box may now require yard storage/chassis time until ERD.

Better planning may change the empty pickup/loading date.

Other cutoffs

Depending on the move, there may also be:

  • documentation cutoff,
  • VGM cutoff,
  • reefer cutoff,
  • hazmat documentation cutoff,
  • rail cutoff,
  • terminal-specific receiving deadline.

Use the carrier/terminal booking instructions.

What FCC recommends tracking

For imports:

  • ETA,
  • discharge,
  • Customs release,
  • carrier release,
  • availability,
  • LFD,
  • appointment,
  • pickup,
  • empty-return deadline/location.

For exports:

  • booking,
  • empty release,
  • ERD,
  • shipper load date,
  • appointment,
  • cutoff,
  • in-gate,
  • vessel departure.

Bottom line

Dates control drayage.

When the dates are organized in one place, the move becomes much easier to manage.

Related:

Working against a cutoff?

Send the terminal, the container and the dates and we will help plan the pickup around the appointment window rather than hoping for one.

Request a Freight Quote

Official references

  • PierPASS appointments: https://www.pierpass.org/appointments/
  • PierPASS 2026 operational report: https://www.pierpass.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PierPass-2025-Operational-Costs-and-Financial-Report.pdf
  • Port of Virginia container-event fields: https://operations.portofvirginia.com/api-subscriptions/