Detention & Demurrage Cost Calculator for UK & EU Shippers

Detention is the silent tax you pay because you can't see the truck. Enter your numbers, hit calculate, and see what waiting time costs you every year, and how much you could win back.

✓ Built for UK & European road freight ✓ 30-second estimate ✓ No email required
Your numbers
per hour, per vehicle

Detention is costing you

£0/year
Per load £0 Per week £0 Affected loads/yr 0
With TrucksOnTheMap you could win back
£0/year
  • Predictive ETAs (~95%) so the dock is ready and drivers never queue
  • Dock slot booking that wipes out the congestion behind detention
  • Timestamped arrival proof to dispute every unjustified charge
Book a demo to cut this bill

Free for your carriers · live in ~7 weeks · one platform

Estimates are indicative and based on the figures you enter. Rates and free-time vary by carrier, lane and contract.

Why detention hits UK & EU shippers harder in 2026

Detention has quietly become one of the largest avoidable lines in the European transport budget, and four pressures are making it worse:

  • Tight free-time windows. UK and EU road contracts typically allow just 1 to 2 hours per stop, so delays tip into chargeable detention fast.
  • Congested docks and RDCs. Peak arrivals at UK regional distribution centres and EU hubs create queues no spreadsheet can prevent without real-time arrival data.
  • Retailer delivery windows. Miss a Tesco, Sainsbury's or Aldi slot and you face OTIF penalties on top of detention, so the same root cause hits you twice.
  • Rising carrier cost pressure. With the German toll CO2 surcharge squeezing margins, carriers now bill detention more strictly than ever.

What detention & demurrage really cost

Detention is charged when a carrier's driver and vehicle are held beyond an agreed free time, usually loading or unloading delays. Demurrage is the related charge when equipment sits idle longer than allowed. For European road freight, typical free time runs 1 to 2 hours, after which carriers bill £35 to £60 / €40 to €70 per hour, per vehicle. The real problem is that detention is a symptom of not knowing where your trucks are, and you only find out when the surcharge lands weeks later, too late to dispute.

How to use this calculator

1

Enter your volume

Loads per week and the share that get held up at a dock.

2

Add waiting time & rate

Detention hours, free-time allowance and your carriers' hourly rate.

3

Calculate

Reveal your annual bill and how much is recoverable.

How to cut detention & demurrage

  • Real-time visibility and predictive ETAs, so you know when each truck arrives and the dock is ready.
  • Dock scheduling and time-slot booking, to spread arrivals and remove queues.
  • Proactive exception alerts, so you act before a load is late instead of paying.
  • Timestamped arrival and departure data, your auditable proof to dispute unjustified charges.

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between detention and demurrage?
Detention covers the carrier's driver and vehicle being held beyond free time at loading or unloading. Demurrage covers equipment such as containers, trailers or swap bodies sitting idle beyond the allowed period. In UK and EU road freight the two are often used interchangeably for waiting-time charges.
What is a typical detention rate in the UK and Europe?
It varies by carrier, vehicle type and contract, but UK rates commonly fall around £35 to £60 per hour and EU rates around €40 to €70 per hour, applied after a free-time allowance of usually 1 to 2 hours.
How much detention is actually avoidable?
A large share. Many shippers cut 30 to 50% once they add real-time visibility, predictive ETAs and dock-slot scheduling, because the root causes of unexpected arrivals and dock congestion disappear. The calculator uses a conservative 50% to estimate recoverable cost.
Can I dispute detention charges?
Yes, but you need evidence. Timestamped arrival and departure data from a visibility platform gives you the auditable record to challenge charges that fall inside free time or were caused by factors outside your control.
Who pays for detention, the shipper or the receiver?
It depends on your contract and Incoterms. The carrier invoices whoever booked the load, usually the shipper or forwarder, who then tries to recover it from the party that caused the delay. Without timestamped data the cost frequently sticks with the shipper.
Does detention apply at both collection and delivery?
Yes. Detention can be charged at the loading site and the unloading site. For high-volume shippers, delivery-side detention at congested distribution centres is often the bigger driver, which is where dock scheduling and slot booking help most.
How do free-time allowances differ across UK and EU contracts?
Free time is negotiated, not fixed by law. UK and EU road contracts commonly allow 1 to 2 hours per stop, but tight retail and just-in-time lanes can be 30 to 45 minutes while bulk freight may allow more. Always confirm the free-time clause and per-hour rate in your rate agreement.
How quickly can TrucksOnTheMap reduce my detention?
Most shippers go live in around 7 weeks and see fewer surprise arrivals and shorter dock queues within the first scheduling cycle. Because carriers use the platform for free, visibility coverage builds fast, which makes the detention reduction real rather than partial.