Depending on the number of gateways, carrier haulage can increase in complexity, and estimating its cost in a bill of lading may lead to errors (usually under estimations).
- For a single gateway, carrier haulage can involve a double sequence involving ocean shipping and inland delivery to the destination selected by the cargo owner.
- For a secondary gateway, a line may issue a bill of lading to port B, but the vessel may only call at port A. The line must pay the full cost of moving the cargo to port A using modes such as road, rail, or barge as a secondary transport sequence and then a final leg to the inland destination, which can be merchant haulage.
- In a multi-port gateway region, port calls by separate shipping lines can imply more second moves and more substituted services and, as such, possibly large landside container interchanges between adjacent ports. The setting of an inland port represents a strategy allowing for a consolidation of carrier haulage shipments and a better level of cost control.