How landside charges actually work
Short, practical explainers for the desk. Each one is written to be read once, kept current with a visible review date, and interlinked to the live data behind it.
How to read a detention & demurrage schedule
A carrier D&D schedule packs four separate decisions into one PDF. Here is how to read all of them, in order, so you know what a container will really cost.
Demurrage vs detention in Australia
Demurrage and detention are two charges for two different delays. Getting them the wrong way round is the most common mistake on an import dispute.
How free time is counted
Free time sounds simple until you count it the way the carrier does. Three rules decide how many days you actually get.
Anatomy of a cartage invoice
A cartage invoice is a stack of pass-through charges with the transport in the middle. Here is what each line is, and which ones you can check against a published schedule.
What is a terminal access charge (TAC)?
Terminal access charges barely existed a decade ago. Now they run to hundreds of dollars a container and rise on their own schedule. Here is what they are and why they keep climbing.
Disputing a detention invoice
You do not win a detention dispute with an opinion. You win it with the schedule, the dates and the source document. Here is the order of play.
What is a VBS booking fee?
The smallest charge on the cartage invoice is the one moving fastest. Here is what a vehicle booking fee is, why the same slot costs $19.66 at one port and $115 at another, and the one detail that quietly doubles it.
Reading about a charge is good. Catching it change is better.
The guides explain the rules. Wharfa watches the schedules those rules live in, and tells you the day one moves, usually weeks before it hits an invoice.