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.
Start with the free time, not the rate
The headline dollar figure is the least useful number on the page. What decides your bill is how many free days you get and when they start counting. Find the free-time line first: it is usually stated as a number of days, split by direction (import or export) and sometimes by container size.
Then check the day basis. Calendar days count weekends and public holidays; working days do not. Two lines both offering "7 days" can differ by a long weekend, which on a congested wharf is real money.
Find where the clock starts
Some lines start the count at vessel discharge, others when the container becomes available for collection. On a slow wharf that gap can be several days, all of it billable. The schedule states this, often in a footnote, so read the footnotes.
Check too whether demurrage and detention share one pool of free days (combined D&D) or run separately. A combined pool is simpler to read and easier to burn through.
Read the tiers as a slope, not a price
Detention is tiered: the daily rate climbs the longer you hold the box. A schedule showing "$165 / $285 / $430" means days 1 to 7 at $165, days 8 to 14 at $285, then $430 beyond. The pain is not linear, so a two-day slip late in the hold costs far more than one early.
Apply the container-size multiplier last. Many schedules quote a 20GP rate and multiply for 40GP and 40HC.
01Which number on a D&D schedule matters most?
02Why do two lines with the same free time cost differently?
KEEP READING
LAST REVIEWED JULY 2026 · A REFERENCE GUIDE, NOT LEGAL ADVICE