The UIIA — the Uniform Intermodal Interchange and Facilities Access Agreement — is the standard industry contract that governs how trucking companies interchange containers, chassis, and trailers with ocean carriers, railroads, and equipment-leasing companies. Administered by the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA), it is effectively the license a drayage carrier needs to pull equipment out of a marine terminal or rail ramp. No UIIA, no container.
How the UIIA works
Rather than signing a separate interchange contract with every steamship line and railroad, a motor carrier signs the UIIA once and then subscribes to the individual equipment providers it works with. Each provider (Maersk, MSC, CMA CGM, the Class I railroads, chassis pools, and so on) publishes an addendum with its specific insurance and operational requirements.
Insurance requirements
To stay UIIA-valid, a carrier must maintain minimum coverage — commonly $1 million auto liability, cargo coverage, and trailer interchange or equivalent physical-damage protection for the equipment it pulls. Certificates are filed electronically and providers are notified automatically if coverage lapses.
Equipment responsibility
The UIIA defines who pays when things go wrong: damage found at ingate versus outgate, tire wear, maintenance and repair billing, and per-diem obligations while equipment is out. Disputes over per diem and repair invoices follow the agreement’s dispute-resolution process rather than ad-hoc arguments.
Why shippers should care
If your drayage provider’s UIIA status lapses, your container simply does not move — terminals check interchange authority electronically at the gate. Asking whether a carrier is UIIA-current with the specific ocean carrier on your booking is one of the fastest ways to screen drayage companies at PortMiami. It also affects cost: carriers with their own chassis, like Go Freight’s owned chassis pool, avoid pool shortages and the daily chassis fees that get passed through to shippers.
UIIA in daily drayage operations
A typical PortMiami move shows the agreement at work: the trucker’s SCAC is validated at the gate, the equipment condition is recorded at outgate, the container is delivered and returned, and any damage or late-return charges are billed per the UIIA and the provider’s addendum. Good dispatch systems track free days and return locations to keep those charges at zero — that is exactly what our DispatchAI TMS does across Go Freight’s drayage operation, with 100+ owned trucks working PortMiami and Port Everglades daily.
Frequently asked questions
Who must sign the UIIA?
Any motor carrier that wants to interchange intermodal equipment — containers, chassis, or trailers — with participating ocean carriers, railroads, or leasing companies. Shippers and forwarders do not sign it; their trucker does.
What insurance does the UIIA require?
Requirements vary by equipment provider addendum, but carriers generally need at least $1 million in auto liability plus cargo and equipment physical-damage coverage, kept continuously current on file with IANA.
What happens if a carrier’s UIIA lapses?
Equipment providers suspend interchange privileges immediately, and terminal gates will reject the carrier’s drivers until coverage is reinstated — which strands containers and can trigger demurrage.
For shippers who want to avoid UIIA interchange headaches entirely, drayage in Miami with an owned chassis fleet eliminates the need for inter-carrier equipment agreements altogether.
Need a UIIA-current, asset-based drayage partner in South Florida? Get a quote or call (786) 445-0150.