A recent study reveals that while detention times for truck drivers at shipper and consignee docks have been decreasing, the financial impact on drivers and trucking companies continues to rise. According to the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), the softening of the freight market has contributed to the decline, but detention remains a significant factor in supply chain inefficiencies.
ATRI’s latest report shows a 6.5 percentage point drop in the frequency of driver detention between 2014 and 2023. This marks a reversal from their 2019 study, which noted increasing detention rates.
“Significant detention of two hours or more became considerably less common, dropping by 11.4 percentage points between 2014 and 2023,” the report stated. Detention is defined as keeping a driver at a location for two hours or more beyond the agreed-upon dwell time. Drivers detained for more than four hours saw a decrease from 7.7% in 2014 to 4.9% in 2023, after a peak of 9.4% in 2018. However, drivers held for one to two hours beyond agreed dwell times increased from 24.5% to 29.4%.
The problem of detention goes beyond drivers and carriers; it signals broader issues within the supply chain. Detention can reduce capacity, delay shipments, and inflate shipping costs. The ATRI study indicates that some shippers have improved processes, reducing wait times through better dock and yard management, drop-and-hook trailer pools, and faster loading and unloading. However, less congestion during the freight market downturn has also contributed to the improvement.
Alex Leslie, ATRI’s senior research associate and the report’s lead author, noted that improvements in appointment scheduling through software have also helped reduce detention times. However, he also acknowledged the role of the current freight downturn in these numbers.
The $3.6 Billion Unpaid Bill
Detention is not just a delay—it’s a costly issue for the trucking industry. Leslie describes it as a “cascading problem” affecting drivers, carriers, brokers, and shippers. Drivers often speed to make up lost time from detention, increasing the risk of accidents and complicating their hours-of-service compliance.
Despite improvements, 39.3% of drivers were detained at least once in 2023, and drivers on average face detention in 10% of all stops. This is costing the trucking industry an estimated $3.6 billion in unrecovered expenses, a sharp increase from $1 billion pre-pandemic. The study also found that truckload drivers spend an average of 173 hours in detention each year, equivalent to over 15 days of lost driving time.
Beyond direct costs, ATRI estimates that detention-related productivity losses amount to $11.5 billion annually. This inefficiency means that more trucks and drivers are required to keep up with demand, a problem that could worsen if freight demand surges.
Regulatory Oversight and Future Solutions
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has been studying detention since 2012 and is returning to the issue with a new study launched in 2023. This study, which focuses on data from electronic logging devices (ELDs) mandated since 2018, is expected to conclude in 2025. The FMCSA hopes to provide solutions to reduce detention’s impact, and increased attention from regulators could lead to legislative changes affecting how shippers handle trailer loading and unloading.
As the freight industry grapples with the ongoing challenges of detention, the report underscores the need for improvements across the supply chain to minimize inefficiencies and protect the profitability of trucking firms.
