Gating in for containers means checking in at the port of origin.

What is gating in? 

Gating in means “checking in” for shipments. 

A container needs to gate in at the Container Yard (CY) before the CY cut-off, and a LCL (Less than Container Load)  shipment needs to gate in at the CFS (Container Freight Station) before the CFS (Container Freight Station) Cut-off. 

Quoted rates are locked in with the carrier once the shipment has gated in.