Detention
What is detention? Detention is a per-hour fee paid to the carrier when a shipper or receiver holds a truck beyond the free loading or unloading time, typically two hours.
Full definition
Detention is the trucker's protection against shippers who chronically hold trucks for 4-8 hours instead of loading them quickly. The standard model is 2 free hours, then $50-$100/hour beyond that.
Getting paid detention is the hard part. Carriers must document time in/out (most ELDs and TMS systems do this), get shipper signatures or photo evidence, and bill the broker within tight windows.
Factoring companies have inconsistent policies on detention invoices. Some advance them like normal freight invoices; others hold them as separate accessorials with different fees. Always confirm before factoring detention.