Last Updated: October 15, 2025
Detention and demurrage fees continue to rise in 2025. These fees quietly erode budgets, slow operations, strain relationships, and reduce driver satisfaction. Even a few hours of dwell time can result in hundreds of dollars in extra charges for each truck or container.
What Are Detention and Demurrage Charges?
Detention and demurrage fees are extra costs that happen when containers or equipment aren’t moved on time. Left unchecked, these extra costs can quietly erode your budget.
What's the Difference between Detention and Demurrage?
In simple terms:
- Detention happens when a truck or trailer is held too long outside the terminal.
- Demurrage happens when containers stay too long inside a port or terminal.
Both fees are meant to encourage faster loading, unloading, and return of equipment. But when delays happen, they can quickly add up to hundreds or even thousands of dollars per load.
For more details and a look at average fees, read
Average Detention & Demurrage Fees blog. Or keep reading to learn how to manage these costs before they spiral out of control.
How Detention and Demurrage Create a Cost Control Challenge
Managing detention and demurrage is not just about paying fees. It’s about operational visibility, process efficiency, and compliance. Without a system-level approach, even small inefficiencies multiply across high-volume operations.
How to Avoid Detention and Demurrage Charges
Avoiding detention and demurrage starts with better planning and clear communication. A few simple steps can help keep costs down and freight moving on time.
- Plan Ahead: Make sure pickup and delivery times match your dock and yard schedules. When everyone knows the plan, trucks spend less time waiting.
- Watch Dwell Times: Keep an eye on how long trailers and containers sit. Seeing delays early gives your team time to fix them before fees start.
- Stay in Touch: Share updates between drivers, carriers, and yard staff. Quick communication helps prevent mix-ups and delays.
- Set Up Alerts: Use automated alerts to warn your team before free time runs out. A few minutes of notice can save hundreds of dollars.
- Check Your Bills: Run reports to review time logs and billing data. Regular audits help catch mistakes and avoid paying unnecessary fees.
YardView makes it easy to follow these steps. Its Detention & Demurrage tools track dwell times, send alerts, and keep everyone informed. This helps you stop fees before they start.
How YardView Addresses the Cost Control Challenge
YardView’s Detention & Demurrage module combines visibility, automation, and actionable intelligence. It prevents costly fees and solves issues before they escalate. Managing these costs is about more than tracking dwell times. YardView gives you complete oversight across every asset and every driver. It tracks everything throughout each yard visit.
Key capabilities include:
Visibility and Tracking
- Maintain full oversight of all assets and drivers. See everything from arrival to departure, reducing uncertainty and delays.
- Use real-time dashboards to track dwell times. See all fee risks and exceptions, so your team can act quickly.
Proactive Alerts
- Receive automated emails, texts, and dashboard notifications before issues escalate. Stay aware to help prevent unnecessary fees.
- Keep carriers and yard staff informed to improve communication and operational efficiency.
Audit and Billing Accuracy
- Access historical transactions and records for easy audit preparation and compliance assurance.
- Verify and reconcile detention and demurrage charges in-system. This helps ensure accurate billing and reduced disputes.
Customization and Collaboration
- Configure rules across fee structures, free days, and escalation settings. Set it up to match your operation’s needs.
- Deliver automated reports to third parties to keep everyone on the same page.
YardView helps teams prevent delays, reduce manual effort, and control costs. The software streamlines
yard driver communication and tasking to boost productivity. It also enables cross-platform workflows through
automation and integration for more connected data.
How it Works
YardView guides every asset and driver through the yard visit. The software helps prevent detention and demurrage fees at each stage.
- Arrival: Automatic timestamps help track arrivals and establish a baseline for dwell monitoring
- Dwell Monitoring: Continuous tracking identifies potential fee risks in real time
- Alerts: Automated notifications alert your team and carriers before issues escalate
- Reporting: Track compliance efforts and share reports with carriers and steamship lines
- Billing Verification: Calculate charges in-system for accurate reconciliation against actual fees
This end-to-end workflow ensures your team can address potential issues immediately. It also helps reduce unnecessary charges and streamline yard operations activities. See how data and analytics help drive meaningful, actionable results.
Proven Results
- Customers commonly see up to a 95 percent reduction in detention and demurrage fees.
- Faster yard turns, improved carrier relationships, and enhanced compliance.
- Real-time asset visibility empowers proactive decision-making across the entire operation.
Why Choose YardView
YardView created the Detention and Demurrage Module to address today’s cost challenges. It's also designed to integrate with broader yard management strategies. The module provides:
- Complete visibility of assets and drivers.
- Seamless integration with TMS, WMS, and ERP systems.
- Configurable rules for all fee types, escalations, and exceptions.
Book a Personalized Demo
Detention and demurrage do not have to define your yard operations. See how much you can save by scheduling a demo today.
