LoadTally

Detention

Pay for waiting at a shipper or receiver longer than expected.

Also called: Waiting time, Layover.

Does it pay the driver? Yes — it adds a line to the driver’s pay.

Waiting past the expected time is paid by the hour or as a flat amount.

Detention is the wait beyond a reasonable time at the dock, commonly counted after the first two hours. The carrier may bill the shipper for it; whether and how the owner-operator pays the driver for it is the owner’s rule.

Owner-operators pay detention one of two ways: by the hour at a set rate, or a flat amount for the wait. Either way the hours and the amount are decided per load, because no two waits are alike.

What the carrier pays the owner for detention and what the owner pays the driver are separate. A driver can be paid for a wait the carrier never reimbursed, and often is.

Read next

  • LL (Live load) — A pickup where the driver waits at the dock while the trailer is loaded.
  • Accessorial — Anything paid beyond the per-mile rate: live loads, stop-offs, detention.

Every term, A to Z

Questions

What does Detention mean?

Pay for waiting at a shipper or receiver longer than expected.

Does Detention pay the driver?

Yes — it adds a line to the driver’s pay. Waiting past the expected time is paid by the hour or as a flat amount.