Free Tool · Demurrage & Detention

Demurrage & Detention Calculator

What is the difference?Pro (on request)
Label only — you enter the rates yourself below.

Dates

Free days start from here.
End of demurrage, start of detention.
End of detention.
Separate: two periods. Combined: one, from arrival to empty return.
No effect under the combined tariff.

Tariff steps per container and day

Applies to every day after step 2.
A separate invoice from the terminal — not the carrier.
Runs from arrival to pick-up.
Total cost
–
all containers
Per further day
–
at the current step
Demurrage
–
chargeable days
Detention
–
chargeable days
Enter arrival, pick-up and return — the result appears automatically.

Demurrage, detention and storage — three invoices, one container

The three items get mixed up in daily work, but they come from two different senders and run over different periods. Separate them and you can check which invoice is justified.

ItemWho invoicesPeriod
DemurrageShipping lineArrival to pick-up — container sits inside the terminal
DetentionShipping linePick-up to empty return — container is outside
StorageTerminal or portArrival to pick-up — for the slot occupied
Demurrage days = max(0, days(arrival → pick-up) − free days demurrage)
Detention days = max(0, days(pick-up → return) − free days detention)
Cost = Σ days per step × rate of the step × number of containers

What matters in practice

  • The steps count from the first chargeable day: Not from arrival. The calculator works that way — check it against your contract, some carriers count differently.
  • Combined tariffs (merged D&D): They merge both periods into one. That is rarely cheaper, but easier to verify.
  • Weekends and public holidays: Depending on the tariff they count or they do not. On a typical delay the difference quickly reaches double-digit percentages.
  • Storage is not negotiable the way demurrage is. It comes from the terminal, not from the carrier, and is often overlooked until the second invoice arrives.

The figure that matters

It is not the total that decides but the next day. Once you know what one more day costs, you can answer whether an express pick-up, a dedicated driver or interim storage is cheaper than waiting. That is exactly the figure shown at the top right.

You enter all rates yourself — this calculator deliberately holds no carrier tariffs. Rates change by carrier, trade lane and contract; a maintained table would be wrong within weeks, and wrong is worse than empty. The calculation runs entirely in the browser, no input is transmitted.

Pro · container monitoring

Watch the free days before the invoice arrives

The Pro version monitors running containers against the agreed free days and alerts before the first tariff step applies — with rates per carrier and trade lane. This function is exclusively on request and after approval provided.

  • Stored rates per carrier and contract
  • Alert before the free days run out
  • Checking incoming invoices against your own data
  • Analysis per port, customer and carrier
  • Import from TMS or Excel
  • Shareable report (PDF & Excel)
Request Pro

No automatic download/export without approval – provision only upon request.