What is detention in trucking?

A fee a carrier charges when its truck is held at a shipper or receiver beyond the free time in the contract — typically 2 hours, per the US DOT Inspector General — usually billed by the hour or by the quarter hour.

What is the difference between detention and demurrage?

In container shipping, demurrage is charged while the full container stays in the terminal after free time; detention while it is outside the terminal until returned empty. In trucking, detention is the charge for holding the truck itself.

How is detention time measured?

Against the free time in the contract, from arrival or the appointment time to release. Carriers often rely on their drivers' electronic logs; the shipper's own gate records are the best evidence on the other side.

Term

Detention

Detention is a charge for holding equipment beyond its free time. In ocean shipping it is what the line charges while its container is outside the terminal, from pickup until the empty is returned. In trucking it is what a carrier charges when a truck is kept waiting at a shipper or receiver — typically after two free hours.

Also called detention charges, detention fee, truck detention, container detentionUpdated 12 October 2026

Two meanings

	Container detention	Truck detention
What is held	The shipping line's container	The truck and its driver
Clock runs	From pickup, full, until returned empty	From arrival or appointment until released
Free time	Set by the line, by port	Set by contract — typically 2 hours
Rules	US: FMC tests of reasonableness	The contract or carrier's tariff

Container detention

Maersk defines detention as the time a container spends outside the terminal — from pickup, full, until it is returned empty to the port or a depot. In the US, the Federal Maritime Commission considers detention charged when an empty container cannot be returned likely to be unreasonable, and Hapag-Lloyd's US guide starts detention free time the day after customs release when cargo is held.

Truck detention

Contracts typically give carriers fees for time beyond 2 hours at a facility, the US Department of Transportation's Inspector General reported in 2018.
A federal study it cited found detention at about 1 in 10 stops, lasting 1.4 hours on average.
It estimated the cost to drivers at USD 1.1 to 1.3 billion a year — USD 1,281 to 1,534 per driver — and to carriers at USD 250.6 to 302.9 million.
On 2013 data, a 15-minute rise in average dwell time raised the expected crash rate by 6.2%.

Worked example: a truck held at a dock

A truck arrives for an 08:00 appointment and is released at 12:30. Suppose the contract gives 2 free hours and pays USD 75 an hour after them.

Held 4.5 h − 2 h free = 2.5 h × USD 75 = USD 187.50

The driver's 14-hour day kept running the whole time — the wait cost 2.5 hours of legal driving as well as the fee.

The mistake people make

Disputing detention without records. The Inspector General found shippers refusing fees over a truck arriving a minute after its appointment; carriers in turn rely on their own logs — FedEx Freight's rules make the time on its drivers' devices binding on both parties. Gate-in and gate-out times recorded at the site settle the argument either way.

FAQ

Detention: common questions

What is detention in trucking?: A fee a carrier charges when its truck is held at a shipper or receiver beyond the free time in the contract — typically 2 hours, per the US DOT Inspector General — usually billed by the hour or by the quarter hour.
What is the difference between detention and demurrage?: In container shipping, demurrage is charged while the full container stays in the terminal after free time; detention while it is outside the terminal until returned empty. In trucking, detention is the charge for holding the truck itself.
How is detention time measured?: Against the free time in the contract, from arrival or the appointment time to release. Carriers often rely on their drivers' electronic logs; the shipper's own gate records are the best evidence on the other side.