Trucking companies · Detention
Detention pay in trucking and lumper fees: bill every wait
Your truck sat four hours at the dock. Unless someone wrote down the times and warned the broker in time, you will not see a dollar of it.
Detention pay is what a carrier charges when a shipper or receiver keeps the truck past the free time, most often two hours, at the rate on the rate confirmation, commonly $50 to $80 an hour. A lumper fee is what you pay a warehouse crew to unload, and you get it back only with the receipt. Both are lost the same way: no times, no notice, no receipt, too late. We fix that part:
- The broker warned before free time runs out, from the driver's check-in
- In and out times and the lumper receipt collected at the dock
- The claim sent with the proof inside the broker's deadline, and followed to payment
Live in five business days from the day access is granted.
What is detention pay, and how much is it?
Detention is waiting time at a shipper or receiver beyond the free time agreed on the load. In ATRI's 2024 survey of 245 carriers, two in three that charge detention start the clock at two hours. The rate and the free time are whatever your rate confirmation says; no Canadian rule sets them.
- Free time: usually 2 hours
- Truckload median: $50 an hour
- Reefer median: $60 an hour
- Specialized median: $80 an hour
| Fleet type | Median detention rate |
|---|---|
| Truckload | $50 an hour |
| Refrigerated | $60 an hour |
| Specialized | $80 an hour |
ATRI, Costs and Consequences of Truck Driver Detention, September 2024 (US carriers).
Detention, layover or TONU: what does each pay?
| Charge | When it starts | How it is billed | Who sets the amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detention | After the free time, usually 2 hours | By the hour, rounded to the broker's step | Your rate con |
| Layover | When the truck is held so long it loses the day; some brokers switch from detention after about five hours | By the day | Your rate con |
| TONU (truck ordered, not used) | When a load is cancelled after the truck was dispatched | A flat amount | Your rate con |
How much detention actually gets paid?
Less than half of it. The numbers from the largest recent study and the industry's best-known survey:
| Figure | What it measures | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| 39% of stops | had detention in 2023 | drivers' reports, ATRI 2024 |
| 1 in 4 | detention incidents never invoiced | carriers billed 75% of the time, ATRI 2024 |
| 55% | of detention invoices paid | so about 4 in 10 incidents end up paid, ATRI 2024 |
| 3% | of carriers paid on 90% or more of their claims | load-board company survey, 2016 |
Brokers see it differently: 84 per cent of carriers rank detention among their five biggest problems, but only 20 per cent of brokers do (a load-board company's survey, 2016). Two in three brokers pay detention only when they can collect it from the shipper or receiver.
Where the money gets lost
Every lost detention claim fails at one of these points:
- Arrival
The driver checks in, but nobody records the time. Many brokers pay detention only if the truck was on time for the appointment, and you cannot prove it was.
- Free time runs out
Nobody tells the broker. Brokers such as TQL and Arrive ask for notice 30 minutes before detention starts.
- Departure
The BOL leaves with no out-time. Brokers want in and out times on the signed BOL or POD, and C.H. Robinson's guide says a request whose times do not match the paperwork will not pass validation.
- The lumper
The driver paid cash or a code for the unload. The receipt is in the driver's jacket.
- The next day
The claim goes in after the window closes. RXO, Uber Freight and Transfix ask for detention requests within 24 hours; Arrive within two business days. A late claim is a lost claim.
Work out a claim: detention calculator
None of this is the driver's fault or the dispatcher's. It is four small jobs at the worst possible time, and nobody owns them.
When does the detention clock start?
On time: most brokers start counting from the appointment, or from arrival if that is later, and pay after the free time.
Early: an early arrival usually waits for the appointment before the clock starts.
Late: many brokers pay no detention at all when the truck missed its appointment.
Long waits: some brokers cap detention per stop, and a long enough wait turns into a layover day.
Your rate con decides each of these, so read it before the truck arrives, not after.
What is a detention claim worth? A worked example
Your truck is booked for an 8:00 appointment, arrives at 7:55 and leaves at 12:40. Your rate con allows 2 hours free at $50 an hour, billed in 15-minute steps.
The clock starts at 8:00: 4 hours 40 minutes to departure.
Billable time is 4:40 minus 2:00 free, or 2:40, rounded down to 2:30.
The claim is 2.5 × $50 = $125.
The day it cost is 4 hours 45 minutes on duty under the federal hours-of-service rules, time the driver cannot drive.
Work out your own with the truck detention calculator.
What goes on a detention claim?
Load and reference numbers
The facility
The appointment time
In and out times, and where they come from (the signed BOL or POD, or tracking)
Free time and rate from the rate con
Billable time
When the broker was notified
The lumper receipt, if any
The total
Some brokers want detention on the load invoice, others as a separate request in their carrier portal; their carrier guide says which. The claim is only as strong as the times on the paperwork.
Does the driver get detention pay?
The broker pays the carrier, not the driver. For a company driver, the carrier's own pay policy decides whether and how waiting time is paid. For an owner-operator, the detention claim is their own income. Either way, the claim needs the same times and the same notice.
Which of these happen in your office?
Tick the ones that are yours. They go with your request, so our first call starts with your problems.
At the dock
In the office
Getting paid
You ticked 0 of 8.
Send these with a free discovery requestWhat brokers ask for before they pay
On time for the appointment. Many brokers pay detention only if the truck arrived on time.
Notice before detention starts. Often 30 minutes before free time runs out, at pickup and delivery.
In and out times on the paperwork. On the signed BOL or POD, written by the facility or the driver.
Times that match the tracking. If the times do not match, the claim can fail.
A claim inside the window. Often within 24 hours, sometimes two business days.
Receipts for lumpers. Reimbursed only on an approved receipt, and only if the load confirmation allows it.
Examples from published carrier guides (TQL, Arrive, RXO, C.H. Robinson, Uber Freight, Transfix). Your broker's terms are on your rate confirmation.
Lumper fees: who pays, and how you get it back
A lumper service sets its charge at the dock, by the pallet, the case, the load or the hour. The driver or carrier usually pays on the spot, by card or a payment code, and must keep the receipt. Get lumper terms on the rate con before dispatch: without them, many brokers will not reimburse. In the US, federal law makes the shipper or receiver responsible for loading help it requires (49 U.S.C. 14103); elsewhere, the rate con decides.
Detention or demurrage?
In trucking, detention is the truck's waiting time at a dock. In ocean shipping, demurrage and container detention are charges for containers kept past their free days at a port or terminal. If a search for a detention calculator shows you container tools, that is why.
How it works at the dock
When the driver arrives, they send one WhatsApp message, "checked in", or the time comes from your tracking. The system knows the load's free time from the rate con, so a notice to the broker is drafted before the clock runs out. When the truck leaves, the driver is asked for the out-time and a photo of the signed BOL and any lumper receipt. The claim is drafted the same day with everything attached, a person sends it, and it stays on your morning page until it is paid.
Load 4471 · sample
Detention in Canada
No Canadian rule sets free time or detention rates; your rate confirmation is the contract. What federal rules do say: under the hours-of-service regulations, waiting while a truck is loaded or unloaded is on-duty time. A four-hour wait at a dock comes out of the driver's day and can cost you the next load. On US runs, federal law makes a shipper or receiver who requires help with loading or unloading responsible for providing it or paying for it, and bars coercing a carrier to pay lumpers (49 U.S.C. 14103).
What it will not do
It will not argue a claim with a broker, decide what you bill, or promise that a broker pays. It makes sure the proof exists, the broker is told in time and the claim goes in inside the window, every time, so the decision about the money is yours and the paperwork is never the reason you lose it.
Questions about detention pay and lumper fees
- What is detention pay in trucking?
- A charge for waiting at a shipper or receiver beyond the free time on the load, billed by the hour at the rate on the rate confirmation.
- How much is detention pay?
- It is set by your rate confirmation. In ATRI's 2024 survey, median rates were $50 an hour for truckload carriers, $60 for refrigerated and $80 for specialized.
- When does detention start?
- When the free time on the load runs out, most often two hours after arrival or after the appointment time. Two in three carriers that charge detention start at two hours.
- What is a lumper fee?
- A payment to a crew that unloads or loads the trailer at a warehouse or distribution centre. The driver or carrier often pays it on the spot and is reimbursed with the receipt.
- Who pays the lumper fee?
- The driver or carrier often pays at the dock, and the cost is usually passed back through the broker, but only if the load confirmation allows it and you send the receipt in time.
- What do brokers need to pay detention?
- Usually an on-time arrival, notice before detention starts, in and out times on the signed BOL or POD, and a claim inside their window.
- How fast do I have to submit a detention claim?
- It depends on the broker. Several published guides ask for detention requests within 24 hours; some allow two business days.
- What is layover pay?
- A daily charge when the truck is held so long it loses the day. Some brokers switch from detention to layover after about five hours.
- What's the difference between detention pay and layover pay?
- Detention is billed by the hour once the free time runs out. Layover is billed by the day when the truck is held so long it loses the day. Your rate con sets both.
- Is there a cap on detention?
- Some brokers cap detention per stop, and some switch to a layover charge after about five hours. The rate con says which.
- Do company drivers get detention pay?
- The broker pays the carrier. Whether a company driver is paid for waiting depends on the carrier's own pay policy.
- How are lumper fees calculated?
- By the lumper service at the dock: per pallet, per case, per load or by the hour. You get the amount back through the broker with the receipt, if the rate con allows it.
- What goes on a detention claim?
- Load and reference numbers, the facility, the appointment, in and out times with their source, free time and rate, billable time, when the broker was notified, any lumper receipt and the total.
- What is the difference between detention and demurrage?
- In trucking, detention is the truck's waiting time at a dock. Demurrage is an ocean-shipping charge for containers kept at a port or terminal past their free days.
- What is TONU in trucking?
- Truck ordered, not used: a flat fee when a load is cancelled after the truck was dispatched.
- Is detention regulated in Canada?
- No Canadian rule sets free time or detention rates; the rate confirmation is the contract. Waiting at a dock does count as on-duty time under the federal hours-of-service regulations.
- Can you bill detention for us?
- We collect the times and receipts, warn the broker, draft the claim and track it to payment. A person on your side sends it, and you decide what to bill.
- What does it cost?
- Discovery is free. The build is quoted after it, then a monthly care plan. We do not publish a rate card.
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Sources
Last reviewed: October 2026. Figures and broker terms checked October 22, 2026.