Detention and demurrage stopped being background noise several years ago and became a multi-billion-dollar cost centre that regulators started asking hard questions about. For a plant the exposure is awkward because most of it is generated by people who never see the invoice — a gate queue, a dock backlog, a yard with no positions — and settled by people who were not there. Meanwhile the rules governing the invoices themselves have become considerably more specific, and considerably more useful to the party being billed. The single most consequential fact is procedural rather than commercial: the dispute clock starts when you receive the invoice, not when someone gets round to reviewing it, so a queue of unreviewed charges in an inbox is directly spending your dispute rights. Book a 30-minute session and bring last month's D&D invoices — we'll run them against the three clocks below in Fleet Rabbit and show you which ones you still have standing to challenge.
2026 GUIDE · D&D EXPOSURE
Detention and Demurrage Exposure for Plants
Where a plant actually incurs the charges, how the clocks run, what an invoice must contain to be payable at all, and the evidence that decides the argument.
30
Days to invoice you
From when charges last accrued. Later than that is disputable on timing alone.
30
Days for you to challenge
From invoice issuance. This clock runs whether or not anyone has opened it.
30
Days for them to resolve
After receiving your request. Missing it is itself a basis to press.
Three calendar-day clocks under the current US ocean rules. Two of them protect you, and the middle one is the one most plants lose by inattention rather than by argument.
Where a Plant Actually Incurs It
Most plant-side exposure is generated inside the fence and invoiced from outside it. Five places, and only one of them is a port.
1Gate queue at your own barrierTrucks waiting to be admitted are accruing time against a free window that is usually about two hours from the scheduled appointment. A gate running near its throughput limit generates this daily without anyone connecting the two.
2Dock and unload backlogThe clock keeps running while a trailer waits for a door. This is the classic case where labour scheduling at peak inbound generates a transport charge.
3Yard holding beyond free timeContainers or trailers kept on site as a buffer. Deliberate, sometimes sensible, and priced by someone else at a daily rate.
4Terminal dwell on inbound containersDemurrage proper — a loaded box sitting past terminal free time, which typically runs three to seven calendar days after discharge depending on the carrier's tariff and the terminal.
5Empty return refusal or delayEquipment you cannot give back accrues charges you did not choose. Frequently outside your control and frequently invoiced to you regardless.
The distinction that decides the evidence you need
Demurrage applies to a loaded container sitting at the terminal beyond free time. Detention applies to equipment outside the terminal, and in the trucking sense to a driver held at your dock past the free window. Each charge type has different responsible parties, different rate structures and different evidence needs — so categorise before you dispute, because the argument you make for one will fail for the other.
Clock Rules Are Not Universal
Worth knowing before assuming a global policy will work, because the same word means different things in different markets.
United States
The demurrage clock starts when the container is made available — not when it is discharged. That gap matters and it is frequently mis-stated on invoices.
Canada
Ocean contracts commonly lump detention and demurrage free time together, so free days can be applied to either on-terminal or outside-terminal time.
Latin America and Oceania
The terms are often reversed — on-terminal time is called detention and out-gated containers accrue demurrage. Read the contract, not the label.
Elsewhere generally
The clock often starts when containers are offloaded at the terminal rather than when made available, which shortens your usable free time relative to a US assumption.
48–72 hrs
Triage every D&D invoice within days of receipt, not weeks.
It is the single highest-leverage process change available here, because the dispute clock does not wait for your review queue. Bring us your current intake path on a short call and we'll show you what a 48-hour triage looks like running through Fleet Rabbit — invoice in, gate and dock timestamps attached automatically, dispute-eligible flag raised before the window closes.
Audit the Invoice Before You Argue the Facts
This is the order that wins disputes. A defective invoice is defeated on its face, without anyone needing to reconstruct what happened at the dock.
← Swipe to see all columns →
| Check | What to verify | If it fails |
|---|---|---|
| Issued in time | Within 30 calendar days of when charges last accrued | Disputable on timing grounds regardless of the underlying charge |
| Required fields present | Bill of lading and container numbers, location, time period, free time allowed, how the amount was calculated, how to dispute | A missing required field can eliminate the obligation to pay that charge |
| Correct free-time clock | Started on the right event for that market and tariff | Recalculate and dispute the difference |
| Correct rate applied | Against the tariff or contract in force on those dates | Where most disputable charges are actually found |
| Charges stopped on the right event | Return, pickup or availability date matching your own record | Dispute the tail days with your independent timestamps |
| Reasonable in the circumstances | Whether the charge could have incentivised any movement at all | A fee that cannot promote fluidity has been rejected on that basis |
That last row now has weight behind it. In April 2026 an appeals court upheld a decision rejecting three days of detention charges incurred during a port closure, reinforcing a practical test: these charges are primarily financial incentives to promote the efficient movement of cargo and equipment, and a fee must remain reasonable in the actual circumstances. Where the gates were shut, no amount of charging could have moved anything. Worth noting the dispute in question ran six years over $510 — so the principle is more useful than the precedent is quick.
What Changed, and What Did Not
The regime shifted in late 2025 in one specific way, and a lot of internal policies have not caught up.
Still fully in force
The 30-day invoice issuance window after charges stop accruing
The minimum invoice content requirements
At least 30 days for the billed party to request mitigation, refund or waiver
The billing party's obligation to attempt resolution within 30 days
These continue to govern payment obligations, and they are the basis of most successful challenges.
Set aside in September 2025
The provision restricting which party could be billed
The categorical limitation to parties with direct contractual or possessory relationship
The prohibition on billing a motor carrier in carrier-haulage situations
Any assumption that a federal rule backs your contractual allocation of risk
There is currently no bright-line federal rule on who may be invoiced. Billing parties have regained discretion to bill along the contractual path.
The practical consequence for your contracts
Do not assume your contract's allocation of D&D risk is supported by a federal billing restriction — at present it is not. That makes the contract itself the protection rather than a backstop to it, so pass-through terms, indemnity language and who-pays clauses deserve a review they may not have had since 2024. This is also a live area rather than settled law, since a replacement rule remains possible.
The Evidence That Decides It
Independent time records win these arguments. Six things worth capturing as a matter of course rather than assembling under a deadline.
Appointment time versus arrival timeBoth, because the free window runs from one or the other depending on the contract — and which one is often the whole dispute.
Gate-in and gate-out timestampsYour own barrier record, independent of the carrier's. This is the single most useful data point you already generate.
Door assignment and unload startDistinguishes a truck waiting for a door from a truck being unloaded slowly — two very different arguments.
Container availability notificationWhen the box was actually made available, which is where the US demurrage clock starts and where invoices frequently overstate.
Return attempt recordsRefused or unavailable return appointments, with dates. Charges accruing on equipment you tried to give back are the strongest category of dispute.
External disruption evidenceClosures, weather events, terminal outages. Directly relevant to whether a charge could have incentivised movement at all.
Container visibility has matured to the point where many shippers can reconstruct what happened at shipment and lane level instead of relying on email trails and spreadsheets. That capability is what turns a vague complaint about paying too much into a lane-specific request a carrier can actually act on — which is a different conversation entirely.
The Carrier Conversation That Follows
Disputes recover money once. Pattern analysis changes the tariff. Four moves, in order.
1Establish where you actually payBy lane, by terminal, by charge type. Most teams walk into negotiation knowing the total and not the distribution, which is the half that carries the argument.
2Separate what you caused from what you did notGate and dock time is yours to fix; terminal congestion and return refusals are not. Conceding the first half earns credibility for the second.
3Convert patterns into lane-specific asksExtra free days on a lane with structurally slow returns is a request a carrier can price. "We pay too much in D&D" is not.
4Fix your own contribution visiblyGate throughput and dock scheduling improvements shown with data make the remaining ask far harder to refuse, because you have removed the obvious counter-argument.
Walk into the tariff conversation with lane-level evidence
Bring a quarter of D&D charges and your gate data to a working session. We'll reconstruct the timelines in Fleet Rabbit, split the charges into plant-caused and externally-caused, and produce the lane-specific asks worth taking to your carriers — plus the list of invoices still inside their dispute window. Most teams find both halves surprising.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between detention and demurrage?
Demurrage applies when a loaded container remains at the port terminal beyond the free time granted by the ocean carrier or terminal — typically three to seven calendar days after discharge, depending on the tariff and terminal. Detention applies to equipment outside the terminal, and in trucking to a driver held beyond the free window, usually around two hours from the scheduled appointment or actual arrival depending on the contract. Each has different responsible parties, rate structures and evidence needs, so categorise before disputing.
How long do we have to dispute an invoice?
At least 30 calendar days from invoice issuance to request mitigation, refund or waiver, with the billing party obliged to attempt resolution within 30 days of receiving the request. The critical detail is that the clock starts when you receive the invoice, not when someone reviews it — so unreviewed invoices sitting in an inbox are spending your dispute rights while they sit. Routing every charge to review within days rather than weeks is the highest-leverage change available.
Can an invoice be rejected on a technicality?
Effectively, yes, and it should be the first thing checked. An invoice issued more than 30 days after charges last accrued is non-compliant and disputable on timing grounds regardless of whether the underlying charge is otherwise valid. Separately, invoices must carry specific minimum information — bill of lading and container numbers, location, time period, free time allowed, how the amount was calculated and how to dispute it — and a missing required field can eliminate the obligation to pay that charge. Audit the invoice before arguing the facts.
Did the rules change recently?
One part did. In September 2025 a federal appeals court set aside the provision specifying which party could be billed, so as of mid-2026 there is no bright-line federal rule on who may be invoiced and billing parties have regained discretion to bill along the contractual path — including motor carriers in some situations. Everything else remains fully in force: the invoice content requirements and the 30-day issuance and dispute timelines. Do not assume your contract's allocation of D&D risk is backed by a federal restriction; at present it is not.
Can charges be challenged as simply unreasonable?
There is now useful support for that argument. In April 2026 an appeals court upheld the rejection of three days of detention charges incurred during a port closure, reinforcing the test that these charges are primarily financial incentives to promote the efficient movement of cargo and equipment and must remain reasonable in the actual circumstances. Where a terminal was shut, no charge could have moved anything. Note the practical caveat: that particular dispute took six years, so treat it as a principle worth citing rather than a fast route.
What evidence should we be capturing?
Independent time records — they decide these arguments. Appointment time and actual arrival, gate-in and gate-out from your own barrier, door assignment and unload start, container availability notification, return attempt records including refusals, and evidence of any external disruption. Most plants already generate three or four of these and never connect them to the invoice. Bring one disputed charge to a demo and we'll show which timestamps you already hold in Fleet Rabbit and what it would take to close the rest.
How do we reduce the exposure rather than just dispute it?
Fix your own contribution first, because it is both cheapest and most credible in the carrier conversation. Gate throughput, dock scheduling at peak inbound and yard position discipline account for the plant-caused share, and they are entirely within your control. Then use the pattern data on what remains — terminal congestion, return refusals, structurally slow lanes — to make lane-specific requests such as additional free days, which a carrier can price and act on in a way a general complaint cannot.
Triage in Days, Not Weeks
Every invoice audited against the three clocks before the facts are argued, plant-caused time separated from external, independent timestamps captured as routine, and lane patterns turned into asks a carrier can price.
Regulatory position current as of writing and subject to change — this is general information, not legal advice. Confirm the current rules and your own contract terms before acting.
August 21, 2026By Alex Rowan
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