Detention
Time a driver spends waiting at a shipper or receiver beyond the contractual free time — customarily two hours — before loading or unloading is complete. Detention burns paid hours-of-service time without revenue, drives detention-pay disputes, and is a chronic operational-stress signal for carriers running thin margins.
Learn moreWhat is Detention?
Detention is the time a driver and truck are held at a shipper's or receiver's facility beyond the allotted free time for loading or unloading — customarily two hours in truckload freight, though contracts vary. After free time expires, carriers typically bill detention charges by the hour, but collecting them is notoriously difficult: the charge must usually be documented with arrival and departure times (increasingly via ELD records), submitted through the broker, and accepted by a shipper who controls the freight relationship. Many carriers simply absorb the loss. The operational damage goes beyond the unpaid hours. Detention consumes the driver's limited hours-of-service clock without producing miles, which cascades into missed appointment windows on subsequent loads, compressed rest, and pressure to make up time on the road — FMCSA and safety researchers have linked excessive detention to elevated crash risk and HOS violations. Economically, chronic detention functions as an unpriced tax on carriers, hitting small operators hardest because they lack the leverage to bill for it or the schedule slack to absorb it. For anyone assessing carrier health, persistent exposure to high-detention facilities and lanes is an operational-stress signal: it correlates with cash-flow strain, driver turnover, and service failures even when a carrier's safety scores still look clean.
Why does detention matter?
Insurance Underwriters
Detention is a hidden frequency driver — drivers who lose hours at docks make them up on the road, and the research linking detention to elevated crash risk and HOS violations means chronically detained fleets carry risk their BASIC scores may not yet show.
Freight Brokers
Detention disputes are a top source of carrier friction — negotiate free time and detention rates into the rate confirmation up front, capture in/out times, and pay legitimate detention promptly; carriers remember which brokers make them fight for it.
Developers & Platforms
Detention itself isn't an FMCSA data field, but its consequences are — model it indirectly through HOS BASIC trends and service metrics, and treat facility-level dwell data from your own TMS as a first-class carrier-experience signal.
Key values & thresholds
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Customary Free Time | 2 hours at shipper or receiver |
| Billing Basis | Hourly, documented with in/out times |
| Proof Standard | ELD records increasingly used as evidence |
| Hidden Cost | Consumes HOS clock without producing miles |
Frequently asked questions
What is detention in trucking?
Detention is the time a driver waits at a shipper's or receiver's facility beyond the contractual free time — customarily two hours — before loading or unloading is finished. After free time expires, the carrier is typically entitled to bill hourly detention charges, though collecting them requires documented arrival and departure times and cooperation from the broker and shipper. Detention is distinct from demurrage, which applies to equipment like containers and trailers rather than the driver's time.
How does detention affect carrier safety and finances?
Detention consumes a driver's limited hours-of-service clock without generating revenue, which pressures drivers to make up lost time on the road. Safety researchers and FMCSA have linked excessive detention to elevated crash risk and HOS violations. Financially, unbilled detention operates as a tax on carriers — small operators absorb most of it because they lack leverage to collect, and chronic detention exposure correlates with cash-flow strain, driver turnover, and service failures.
How do carriers get paid for detention?
Detention terms should be set in the rate confirmation before pickup: how much free time applies, the hourly rate afterward, and what documentation is required. To collect, drivers must capture arrival and departure times — ELD records, signed in/out times on the BOL, or facility check-in data — and submit the claim promptly through the broker. In practice, payment depends heavily on the broker's willingness to pursue the shipper, which is why detention handling is a key factor in how carriers rate brokers.
Related terms
ELD (Electronic Logging Device)
A device installed in commercial motor vehicles that automatically records driving time and hours of service. ELDs replaced paper logbooks and are mandated by FMCSA for most interstate carriers since December 2019. HOS violations captured by ELDs feed directly into a carrier's BASIC percentile scores tracked by CarrierOk.
HOS (Hours of Service)
Federal regulations limiting commercial driver operating hours to prevent fatigue-related crashes. Key limits include 11 hours driving, 14 hours on-duty, and mandatory 30-minute breaks. HOS violations are one of the 7 BASIC categories tracked in CarrierOk's BASIC percentile data.
Load Board
An online marketplace where brokers post available loads and carriers search for freight — the spot market's central matching mechanism. Load boards are also the front line where unvetted carriers and fraud enter the supply chain. CarrierOk vetting turns a load-board match into a verified counterparty before the rate confirmation goes out.
Deadhead
Miles a truck runs empty — usually repositioning from a delivery to the next pickup — earning no revenue while burning fuel, driver hours, and equipment life. High deadhead percentage is a core indicator of weak lane density and financial pressure on a carrier.
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