Detention vs Layover vs Demurrage: What's the Difference
Detention, layover, and demurrage all compensate for time lost to someone else's delay — which is exactly why they get confused and why invoices using the wrong term get kicked back. A broker who sees 'demurrage' on a dry van dock-delay invoice has an easy excuse to bounce it, and a carrier who bills a 26-hour hold as detention instead of a layover may be leaving the better-fitting charge on the table.
Here's what each term actually covers, how each is typically billed, and how to pick the right one when a delay eats your day.
Detention: paid waiting at the dock, during a load
Detention is the charge for time a truck spends waiting at a shipper or receiver beyond the agreed free time while working a load — the driver is at the facility, on duty, waiting to get loaded or unloaded. Free time is commonly around two hours per stop, and detention is typically billed hourly after it expires, at whatever rate the rate confirmation or carrier agreement sets.
The defining features: it happens mid-load, it's measured against a specific stop's timeline (check-in to release), and it's almost always contractual rather than automatic. No written term, weak claim. Your evidence is the arrival and departure record for that facility — BOL in/out times, timestamped messages, sign-in sheets.
Layover: held over between work, usually by the day
Layover pay applies when the truck is held over without work — commonly overnight or across a day — through no fault of the driver. Typical triggers: the shipper pushes loading to tomorrow morning, a broker asks you to stay in the area for a load that isn't ready, or a multi-day delay converts what started as detention into an overnight hold.
Where detention is metered by the hour against a dock clock, layover is commonly a flat per-day amount, and published figures vary widely — carrier pay plans and industry guides quote daily flat fees across a broad range, with some agreements paying hourly instead. There is no standard; it's whatever your agreement or the broker's written commitment says. Many agreements also define when a long detention event rolls over into layover instead, often with a cap on the detention hours.
Tip A close cousin worth knowing: TONU ('truck ordered, not used') — a flat fee some agreements pay when a load is cancelled after you've committed or arrived. If a cancelled load stranded you, TONU plus layover may both be in play; check the agreement's wording for each.
Demurrage: an equipment charge from the intermodal world
Demurrage comes from ocean and rail shipping, not over-the-road trucking. It's a charge assessed when a container or piece of equipment sits at a port, rail ramp, or terminal beyond its allotted free days — billed per container per day, typically by the steamship line, railroad, or terminal to the party responsible for the box under the shipping contract. It compensates for occupied terminal space and tied-up equipment, not for a driver's time.
Confusingly, the intermodal world also uses the word 'detention' (sometimes 'per diem') for a related but different charge: keeping a container out of the terminal — out on the street, at a warehouse — beyond the allowed days. So in drayage, 'demurrage' commonly means the box sat inside the terminal too long, and 'detention/per diem' means it stayed outside too long. Neither is the same thing as the trucker's dock-waiting detention, even though the word matches.
If you run dry van, reefer, or flatbed and never touch a port or rail ramp, demurrage will essentially never be your charge to bill. If you run drayage, all three concepts can apply on one move — and the terminology in your contracts controls which party owes what.
Picking the right charge (and billing it cleanly)
A quick decision guide when a delay costs you time:
- Waited at a shipper/receiver beyond free time during a load: detention — bill hourly per your rate con terms, with dock in/out evidence.
- Held overnight or between loads with no work, at someone else's direction: layover — bill the agreed flat or daily amount, with written confirmation of who told you to wait.
- Load cancelled after you committed or arrived: TONU, if your agreement provides for it.
- Container overstayed free days inside a port or rail terminal: demurrage — an intermodal equipment charge, billed under the shipping line or terminal's rules.
- Container kept out of the terminal beyond allowed days: equipment detention / per diem, under the intermodal agreement.
Whichever charge applies, the pattern for getting paid is identical: a written term that establishes the charge, contemporaneous timestamps proving the delay, notice given the way the agreement requires, and an invoice whose math matches the agreed method. Mixing the terms up doesn't just look sloppy — it hands the payer a reason to deny first and discuss later.
Tip Long delays can stack charges — say, detention hours on day one converting to a layover overnight. Don't double-bill the same hours under two names; bill each period under the charge that covers it, and show the timeline so the split is obvious.
Common questions
Can I bill detention and layover on the same delay?
Sometimes — but not for the same hours. Many agreements cap detention at a number of hours, after which the event converts to a layover. Bill the detention window under detention and the overnight hold under layover, with a clear timeline. Check your agreement's conversion language first.
Does demurrage ever apply to a regular truckload shipment?
As commonly used today, no — demurrage is an intermodal and terminal charge on containers and equipment. Some older motor-carrier tariffs used 'demurrage' for trailer delays, and you may still see the word in legacy contracts, so read how your specific agreement defines it. For a dry van dock delay, the charge you want is detention.
Who actually pays each charge?
Detention and layover are typically owed to the carrier by whoever contracted the truck — the broker or shipper — under that agreement. Demurrage and per diem are owed under the intermodal or ocean contract, commonly by the shipper, consignee, or the drayage party depending on the terms. In every case, the contract defines the payer; the delay alone doesn't.
What if the broker calls my dock delay a 'layover' to pay the flat rate instead of hourly?
The label doesn't control — the agreement's definitions do. If the delay was at a facility during a load and your rate con has hourly detention terms, invoice it as detention with the dock timeline attached. If the agreement genuinely converts long delays to layover, the conversion clause will say so explicitly.