Freight Glossary
Demurrage
Demurrage is the charge assessed when a shipper holds a shipping container or railcar beyond the allotted free time at a port, terminal, or rail facility. Unlike detention, demurrage applies to the equipment itself rather than the driver's time. A common example is an importer who clears customs on day four but has only three free days, triggering daily demurrage fees from the shipping line.
Why it matters
Demurrage fees accumulate daily and can dwarf the cost of the freight itself on slow-moving imports. They are also a leading cause of supply chain write-offs for importers who lack dray or warehouse capacity. At major US ports, demurrage rates can escalate past $400 per container per day after the first week, compounding quickly on high volume import programs.
When to use it
Monitor demurrage risk whenever you have containers at port awaiting customs clearance, dray availability, or warehouse capacity to receive them. Seasonal importers bringing in holiday inventory should pre-arrange dray and devan capacity weeks ahead to avoid free time expiration.
How Warp thinks about it
Warp doesn't operate port dray, but its cross-dock locations near major port markets give importers a rapid handoff point, getting containers emptied and pallets moving before demurrage accumulates. With 50+ cross-docks nationwide, Warp provides devan and redistribution capacity close to every major US port.