Demurrage

What it means

The Federal Maritime Commission describes demurrage as accruing "when a container exceeds free time on a marine terminal."^[1] Federal rules group demurrage and detention together as charges related to the use of marine terminal space (such as land) or shipping containers, not including freight charges, assessed by ocean common carriers, marine terminal operators or ocean transportation intermediaries.^[2] Put simply, demurrage is the charge tied to the land: the box is occupying terminal space.

On an import, demurrage generally runs from the end of the free time until the loaded box is picked up. How many free days apply and what the daily rate is come from the terminal's schedule, the carrier's tariff or the service contract, not from one national rule. That is why a compliant invoice has to show the free time, its start and end dates, the dates charged, the tariff rule and the rate.^[3] Exports can incur demurrage too, when a full container waits on the terminal for its vessel beyond the export free time.^[8]

The word is older than containers: the FHWA freight glossary still defines it as charges applied when rail freight cars and ships are held beyond a set loading or unloading time.^[7]

What demurrage charges look like

A terminal schedule shows the mechanics. The Maher Terminals marine terminal schedule for its Port Newark–Elizabeth berths (revision dated 2 February 2026) defines demurrage as the charge assessed against cargo remaining on the terminal after free time expires, and lists these rates for general cargo containers on imports, taking effect May 1, 2026:^[8]

Three features are typical. The rate climbs the longer the box stays. Refrigerated, special and tank containers carry higher rates. And demurrage is charged per calendar day, even though the free days are counted only on days the gate is open. The same schedule says demurrage is for the account of the cargo and must be paid before the cargo is delivered.^[8] These figures belong to one terminal at one point in time; always check the current schedule and the carrier's tariff for the specific container.

Unpaid demurrage can also block the pickup itself. In the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's truckers guidebook, one terminal states that an appointment cannot be made for a container already in demurrage until the demurrage is settled, and "demurrage only paid through a certain date" appears among reasons a trucker is turned away.^[9]

Who charges demurrage: terminal or ocean carrier?

Either, and sometimes both. Maher's schedule says the terminal may, at its discretion, honor a carrier's own demurrage provisions, and apply its own schedule when the carrier's terms are not acceptable.^[8] The Port Authority guidebook lists several ocean carriers that collect their own tariff demurrage for imports discharged at that terminal, with payment going to the carrier rather than the terminal.^[9]

Carriers may also split the bill into line demurrage and terminal storage. Hapag-Lloyd's U.S. guide says its carrier haulage demurrage tariff includes marine terminal storage fees, and that during a customs hold it stops its own demurrage clock while the customer remains responsible for storage the terminal operator charges.^[10]

Why it matters

Demurrage piles up in whole days while other things are being sorted out: a customs hold, a missing release, no pickup appointment or a receiver that is not ready. Knowing which clock is running tells you which move stops it. If the receiver is the bottleneck, a nearby cross-dock can take the box off the terminal: RapidShips devans containers 24/7 in East Brunswick, NJ, about 30 road miles from the Port Newark–Elizabeth terminals, though the drayage carrier still makes the pickup.

Invoice rules and disputes

The FMC's demurrage and detention billing rule (46 CFR part 541) sets what a bill must contain and when it must arrive:

• Contents. Bill of lading and container numbers, the free time and its dates, the container availability date for imports, the charged dates, the applicable tariff rule and rate, dispute contacts, and certifications that the charges follow FMC rules.^[3]
• Deadline. The invoice must be issued within 30 calendar days of the date the charge was last incurred; if not, the billed party does not have to pay.^[4]
• Disputes. The billed party gets at least 30 calendar days from the invoice date to request mitigation, refund or waiver, and the billing party must try to resolve it within 30 days.^[5]

Separately, the FMC judges whether demurrage practices are reasonable partly by whether they relate demurrage or free time to when cargo was actually available for retrieval.^[6] The demurrage vs. detention guide covers stopping the clocks and disputing a bill.

Example

Illustrative only: an importer's container has a last free day of Thursday, but the receiving warehouse cannot take it until the following Wednesday. Left at the terminal, the box would rack up six days of demurrage (Friday through Wednesday), all at the first-tier rate under a schedule like the one above, plus any separate storage the carrier passes through. If instead the drayage carrier pulls it Thursday to a nearby cross-dock that unloads it, terminal demurrage never starts, although the separate detention clock on the container keeps running until the empty is returned.

Frequently asked questions