What is detention?
Also called detention pay, waiting time
Detention is money owed to a carrier when a shipper or receiver holds the truck beyond the free time agreed for loading or unloading, usually two hours. It is billed by the hour after that window closes.
A rate confirmation normally grants a fixed period, commonly two hours, for the facility to load or unload. Past that, detention begins accruing at an hourly rate that the confirmation should also state.
Detention is owed by the party that caused the delay, which is usually the facility, and is collected through the broker who booked the load. It is not automatic. It is claimed, evidenced and often argued over.
What it means on a dispatch desk
This is the most commonly forfeited money in the business, and it is forfeited on paperwork rather than on principle. A detention claim survives when the arrival and departure times are documented at the time they happen, by the driver, in writing, and the claim is filed within the window the broker's agreement specifies. A dispatcher who chases detention two weeks later with a driver's recollection loses. One who sends timestamps the same afternoon usually does not.
Related terms
- AccessorialAn accessorial is any charge for work beyond moving the freight from origin to destination. Detention, layover, driver-assisted unloading, extra stops and tarping are all accessorials.
- Rate confirmationA rate confirmation is the document that sets the agreed price and terms for one specific load, issued by the broker and signed by the carrier before the truck moves. It governs that load only.
- Dwell timeDwell time is how long a truck, trailer or container sits idle at a facility waiting to be handled. It is the underlying measure that detention charges are calculated from.
- LayoverA layover is an overnight delay where a driver has to wait until the next day to load or unload, and is paid a flat daily rate for it rather than an hourly detention rate.
- TONUTONU stands for truck ordered not used. It is a flat fee paid when a carrier has been dispatched to a load that is then cancelled, compensating for the trip made and the capacity committed.
Knowing the term is the easy half
Knowing which carriers are worth calling this morning is the hard half.
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