Port guide · Cat Lai · Flat rack · Open top

Cat Lai Port Guide for Flat Rack and Open Top Cargo

How flat racks and open tops really move through Cat Lai port: the extra customs step, the EIR check, the city truck windows and the road distances we price against. Written by the team that trucks them out.

Send dimensions for a Cat Lai plan

For freight agents, carriers’ OOG desks and EPC contractors. · Jump to the cost lines

Cat Lai port handles the largest container volume in southern Vietnam, so most flat racks and open tops bound for Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Long An factories land here. The quay is rarely the problem. The problems sit around it: a customs step that dry boxes do not see, a city that limits heavy trucks by the hour, and a road permit that must match the cargo to the centimeter.

This Cat Lai port guide covers those points for out-of-gauge (OOG) and in-gauge flat rack and open top units. It lists the cost lines we put on every Cat Lai quote, the distances we price against, and the jobs we have run through the terminal.

What is Cat Lai port, and who runs it?

Cat Lai port is the Tan Cang–Cat Lai Terminal (TCCL), run by Saigon Newport Corporation on the Dong Nai river, east of central Ho Chi Minh City. Carriers and documents often write “Cat Lai”, “Tan Cang” or “Saigon” for the same place. The UN/LOCODE is VNCLI.

Source: Saigon Newport, Tan Cang–Cat Lai Terminal. Terminal data changes; we check the position for your vessel before you book.

The water depth explains the split with Cai Mep. Ships too large for 12.5 m discharge at Cai Mep, so an OOG unit on a mainline service may never see Cat Lai.

On feeder and intra-Asia services from China, Korea, Japan and Southeast Asia, Cat Lai is usually the port of discharge. Neighbouring river terminals such as Tan Cang–Phu Huu and SPITC sit close by and use different customs codes, so check the terminal name on the delivery order.

Can Cat Lai port handle flat racks and open tops?

Yes, every week. Cat Lai is the gateway we use most for flat racks and open tops into the south. What decides the plan is not the quay crane but four things around it.

• Carrier OOG acceptance. The carrier must accept the over-width or over-height unit on that service. Some accept OOG only on mainline loops, which sends the unit to Cai Mep.
• The permit must match the truck. Our own trucks carry a standing over-width permit for flat racks of about 3.3 m. Wider, taller or heavier units need a permit for the exact tractor, trailer and route.
• The right trailer. Our fleet includes two 4-axle lowbeds and one 6-axle trailer with a 14.5 m deck, 3.2 m width and 62 t payload. The low deck keeps tall cargo under bridge and flyover limits.
• The extra customs step. Flat racks and open tops at Cat Lai go through a customs supervision step that dry containers do not. See the next section.

Container types we move from Cat Lai

For frame sizes and payloads, see our flat rack container dimensions and open top container guides.

Why does customs cost more for flat racks at Cat Lai?

At Cat Lai, flat racks and open tops go through an additional customs supervision step at the terminal. In our records, this applies to almost every FR and OT unit, in-gauge or out-of-gauge, import or export. A dry box does not pay it.

If you only book trucking or ocean freight with us and your own broker clears customs, this line does not appear on our quote. Ask your broker whether it is in theirs. On a lot of 6 units, it is VND 18,000,000 that should not appear only after delivery.

We are a customs agent recognized by Vietnam Customs (Decision 247/QD-TCHQ, 26 February 2025), so the declaration, the inspection and the trucking sit with one desk. If customs selects the unit for physical inspection, the flat rack is examined in the terminal, and the plan allows for the extra time.

How do ePort and the EIR affect your Cat Lai pick-up?

Saigon Newport runs its container release, payments and equipment interchange receipts (EIR) online through the ePort system. For OOG, the EIR is the document to read before dispatch.

• The EIR remarks carry OOG data. For flat racks and open tops, Cat Lai EIRs show OOG length, width and height (in cm, measured over the whole unit) and the VGM, which includes the container tare.
• We check it against the permit. Our system reads the EIR for each FR and OT unit and flags any gap above 5% between the EIR and the dimensions on our job file. A unit 10 cm wider than the permit stays in the terminal.
• Look-ups have a short window. ePort EIR searches work in windows of up to 7 days, so pull the EIR soon after gate-out if you need it for your file.

When can OOG trucks run from Cat Lai port?

Cat Lai sits inside Ho Chi Minh City, and the city restricts heavy trucks in the inner area during the day. Corridors to and from the port stay open to container trucks, but an oversize load runs on the route and hours written on its permit.

• Expect night runs for oversize loads. Most of our wide or tall Cat Lai moves leave in the evening or at night, when the permit window opens and traffic is lighter.
• Flyovers set the height. Several flyovers on the exit routes carry height or weight limits. The lowbed and the route survey decide whether a tall unit passes under or goes around.
• Rules change. The city reviews its truck restrictions from time to time. We check the current windows with each permit instead of quoting a fixed timetable.

How far is the road leg from Cat Lai port?

For most industrial zones north, east and west of Ho Chi Minh City, Cat Lai port is the shorter road leg. The table shows one-way distances from our flat rack trucking tariff, compared with Cai Mep.

Each saved kilometer matters more with an oversize load. A shorter route means a shorter permitted route, fewer hours inside the night window and less escort time. For Phu My and the Thi Vai river belt, the logic reverses; see our Cai Mep port guide.

Long-haul moves from Cat Lai

Cat Lai is also the start of our long road moves. In July 2026 we ran 6 cable drums on 2 lowbeds from Cat Lai to Khanh Hoa, and in September 2026 a 40′ flat rack from Cat Lai to Nhon Binh industrial cluster in Quy Nhon. Long hauls are priced on the route, not on a per-km table.

Which cost lines should a Cat Lai flat rack quote include?

A Cat Lai flat rack quote is complete only when every line below is either priced or marked as not in scope. Most disputes we see come from lines that were silent, not lines that were high.

For agents, we quote net and in one currency. Network members get the same rate structure on every lot.

Our recent jobs through Cat Lai port

These are trucking jobs from our own records, with customer names left out. They show the mix: imports and exports, 20′ and 40′ flat racks, open tops and loose cargo.

Import flat racks, Cat Lai to Ho Nai (June 2026)

Cargo

Covered machinery on 3 × 40′ flat racks

Route

Cat Lai port → Ho Nai industrial zone, Dong Nai

Equipment

Multi-axle trailers, one unit per truck

Challenge

Covered machinery wider than a standard chassis, leaving the city after dark

Result

3 units delivered from Cat Lai to the Ho Nai site, one truck per unit, with photos at pick-up and delivery

Cat Lai checklist: what holds a flat rack at the gate

This is the list our dispatchers check before a truck leaves for Cat Lai port.

Our internal rule: the consignee sends the D/O, ETA and release documents at least 2 working days before pick-up. Without them, dispatch does not send a truck to wait at the gate.

FAQ: Cat Lai port for flat rack and open top cargo

More guides for Vietnam port and OOG planning

Port members and contacts are listed by the Vietnam Seaports Association. We are a licensed customs agent (Decision 247/QD-TCHQ, 2025) and a member of WCA and OPCA; see our page for agents.

Last updated: October 2026