Container Detention Time: Why Unloading Speed Matters

Every hour that a container stays on your site after the free period may cost money, and the bill does not care whether the delay came from the truck, the forklift or a long argument about a damaged carton. Importers who plan the check inside the time available seldom see this charge, and those who discover the rules on day four often pay it. This article explains the idea in general terms. Free days, rates and the way days are counted differ between carriers, terminals and contracts, so get the actual figures from your carrier or forwarder.

How the clock works in general

When a loaded container is delivered, the carrier or the terminal normally allows a set number of free days before charges begin. Two charges are commonly talked about:

• Demurrage: usually for a container that stays at the port or terminal beyond the free time.
• Detention: usually for a container taken out of the terminal and kept by the consignee beyond the free time before the empty is returned.

Companies use these words in different ways, and some put both under one name, so check which one applies to you. The key points are the same everywhere: a free period, a start date, a daily charge afterwards and an obligation to return the empty box in good condition.

What to ask the carrier early

Ask before the container arrives, in writing:

1. How many free days apply, and what is the date of day one?
2. Are weekends and holidays counted?
3. What is the daily rate after the free days, and does it change over time?
4. Where must the empty container be returned, and until what hour on the last day?
5. Does anything stop or extend the clock, and what proof does the carrier require?
6. Who pays if the container is held for inspection or a customs decision, and who confirms it?

Some of these answers depend on customs decisions, so put the same questions to your broker. Note the answers in the shipment file, with the date.

Planning the check inside the free time

Work backwards from the return date.

• Count the days you have, and subtract the time needed to return the empty. That is your window.
• Schedule the unloading and the receiving check within the first day or two, so that a problem found late still leaves room.
• Unload and count first. Leave the in-depth inspection of problem cartons until afterwards, in the staging area, since it does not need the container.
• Return the empty container as soon as it is empty and photographed. The goods can be examined later, but the clock cannot be stopped.

Record the time the container arrives, the time the doors open and the time it is emptied. This log answers questions about who delayed what.

Speed against accuracy

Haste is also costly. A count done in a hurry produces wrong numbers, and a missing photograph cannot be taken once the empty container has gone. The sound approach is to decide in advance the minimum that you will always record inside the container itself, and to move everything else to the staging area.

The minimum to complete before the container leaves: photographs of the seal and the container number, the first view, the count by pallet, photographs of the damage in position and photographs of the empty box.

A conditional example

Suppose the carrier allows 3 free days and charges USD 60 per day afterwards, counting every calendar day. The container arrives on Monday morning and the unloading is planned for the same day. A dispute over damaged cartons delays the work, and the empty is returned on day 6. That is 3 days over, or 3 × 60 = USD 180. Now suppose the team would have needed one extra person for the afternoon at USD 25, and the work would have ended on Monday. The comparison is simple. The rate and the free days here are invented, so use your own.

In short

Detention is about time, and time can be planned if the figures are known early. CargoChek works alongside the unloading, and in many cases the check fits within it, so it does not have to add days to the container's stay.