Reduce demurrage and detention before the charges hit.

Gnosis Freight identifies containers at risk of demurrage or detention while there is still time to act, using your actual free-time terms, live milestones, and container status.

How do you reduce demurrage and detention costs?

Know which containers will incur a charge before free time expires.

Gnosis Freight combines live container milestones with customer-specific contract terms to calculate fee exposure and surface the containers that need action. Teams can prioritize the highest-cost exceptions instead of checking carrier portals, spreadsheets, and emails one container at a time.

CLM can flag at-risk containers 24–48 hours before charges begin.

81% less demurrage. 64% less detention.

Across Gnosis Freight users, demurrage spend per hit fell an average of 81%, and detention spend per hit fell 64% within the first 12 months.

The cohort avoided $18.6 million in demurrage and $23 million in detention, while incidence fell from roughly 30% to 5%.

Why demurrage and detention become expensive

The problem usually isn’t knowing that demurrage and detention exist. It is knowing which box needs attention right now.

Free time varies by carrier and contract. Terminal rules change. Holds, appointments, drayage capacity, and empty-return restrictions introduce new risks throughout the container lifecycle.

When that information sits across different systems and portals, teams often find out about the cost after it has already been created.

How Gnosis prevents the charge

Calculate risk using the contract that actually governs the container

Gnosis loads negotiated free-time terms rather than relying on blanket tariff assumptions.

Watch the container against the clock

Live gate and milestone data is continuously compared with those terms so teams can see when free time expires and what is at risk.

Put the highest-dollar exceptions first

Instead of treating every container equally, teams can focus on the boxes most likely to create avoidable costs.

Act from the exception

Assign a trucker, resolve a hold, schedule an appointment, or coordinate the next action before the fee hits.

What does that change for the business?

Fewer demurrage and detention events mean more than lower accessorial spend. They also mean fewer disputes, smaller accrual buffers, less AP reconciliation, and more cash retained inside the business.

The case study estimates that avoiding fees on approximately 100 containers annually can cover the subscription cost for many BCOs.

Find the demurrage and detention spend you can prevent.

See how Gnosis Freight calculates demurrage and detention exposure across your containers and contracts.

Talk to a Gnosis engineer →

Frequently asked questions about demurrage and detention

How can importers reduce demurrage and detention costs?

Importers can reduce demurrage and detention by identifying containers at risk before free time expires. Gnosis Freight compares live container milestones with negotiated free-time terms and flags at-risk containers 24–48 hours before charges begin, giving teams time to act.

What causes demurrage and detention charges?

Demurrage can occur when a full container remains at the terminal beyond its allowed free time, while detention can occur when equipment is kept outside the terminal too long before empty return.

Holds, appointments, drayage coordination, changing terminal rules, and different carrier contracts can all contribute to the risk.

How does Gnosis Freight calculate demurrage and detention risk?

Gnosis Freight loads negotiated free-time terms and compares them with live gate and container milestones. This lets CLM calculate risk using the contract that governs the shipment rather than relying on blanket tariff assumptions.

How much can demurrage and detention be reduced?

Across the cohort in this case study, users achieved an average 81% reduction in demurrage spend per hit and a 64% reduction in detention spend per hit within the first 12 months.

The cohort avoided $18.6 million in demurrage and $23 million in detention.

Can demurrage and detention software help before a fee is charged?

Yes. The purpose of Gnosis Freight’s demurrage and detention alarms is to surface risk while the charge can still be prevented.

Teams can use the alert to assign a trucker, resolve a customs hold, schedule an appointment, or take another recovery action before fees begin.