Demurrage Can Cost

Demurrage causes companies to lose money every single day. And that can mean a lot when companies are trying to keep themselves in the black. Going in to demurrage with international shipping containers does not help your bottom line. Unless your company has a small hiccup in paying bills or a problem finding a trucking company to pick up your freight container it makes no sense to leave containers at the port incurring demurrage charges. Even if the container needs to be stored, there are better, less costly ways. The demurrage charges can greatly add up and if you do not have a provision in your contract with the steamship line, it can add up fast. For instance, if a steamship line charges USD 120/40'std container and you have 30 containers that have been discharged and you have exhausted any free time at the port, you will be charged an extra USD 3600 per day until you make payment. If those same shipping containers were left for 5 days, it would cost USD 18000 to get your containers released. If USD 3600 didn't hit you, I am sure USD 18,000 did. As it is there are all kinds of port fees that we have to pay whether it is an increase in the bill of lading from the ocean freight carrier or an examination from customs. Adding these types of charges to an already increasing bill of lading can be very hard to justify. In the end, it only helps you if you pay your freight and move your container right away.