Sitting at a dock isn't free time — it's lost money. Enter your free hours, time waited, and rate to see what you're owed per stop, per week, and per year — and how much you quietly lose when detention goes unbilled or unpaid.
Detention pay is what carriers charge for waiting past free time — typically $25–$100/hour (often $50; owner-operators target $75+) after the first 2 free hours. A 4-hour wait at $50/hr pays $100 per stop; ATRI finds under half of detention invoices get collected.
Source: ATRI 2024 detention research ($15.1B/yr industry loss, <50% of invoices paid); FMCSA driver-detention findings; Truckstop/OTR rate guidance. Updated July 2026.
"Left on the table" is billable detention you don't collect because of unpaid invoices or no detention terms in the rate con. The fix is free: get detention in writing before you roll, and document in/out times.
The widely accepted rule is two hours free at a shipper or receiver, then detention pay — typically $25 to $100 an hour, with $50/hr common. Some rules tariffs allow up to four free hours. The catch is collection: ATRI's 2024 research found the industry loses about $15.1 billion a year to detention, and fewer than half of detention invoices are actually paid. FMCSA separately estimates drivers lose $1.1–$1.3 billion in wages a year to detention — before you count the loads you couldn't run because the clock was burning.
Billable detention per year at 2 free hours, $50/hr, 50 weeks — by hours waited and detained stops per week:
| Hours waited | 2 stops/wk | 3 stops/wk | 5 stops/wk |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 hrs (1 billable) | $5,000 | $7,500 | $12,500 |
| 4 hrs (2 billable) | $10,000 | $15,000 | $25,000 |
| 6 hrs (4 billable) | $20,000 | $30,000 | $50,000 |
That's billable — at the industry's ~50% paid rate, you collect about half unless your paperwork and rate cons are tight.
The per-hour rate is only half the story. Every hour you sit on-duty at a dock burns your 14-hour driving window — so a long wait doesn't just cost the detention shortfall, it can cost you the next load you no longer have hours to run. That lost load is usually worth far more than the detention check, which is why FMCSA pegs detention-related driver wage losses at $1.1–$1.3 billion a year on top of the unpaid invoices. The honest way to price a wait is detention collected minus the profit of the load the hours cost you:
| 4 hrs waited (2 billable) | Detention collected @ $50/hr, 50% paid | Load the burned hours cost you | Real hit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clock had room — nothing lost | +$50 | $0 | +$50 |
| Cost you a short reload | +$50 | −$400 profit | −$350 |
| Blew the day (reset risk) | +$50 | −$400 and tomorrow's start | −$350 and up |
Illustrative TruckMargin framing, not a promise about your day — the point is that detention's real cost is the detention gap plus the opportunity cost of burned hours. That's why repricing a chronic-detention lane (or refusing it) usually beats chasing the detention invoice. Sources: FMCSA driver-detention wage-loss estimate ($1.1–$1.3B/yr); ATRI 2024 detention research ($15.1B/yr, <50% of invoices collected).
Detention pay is money you charge for waiting past the agreed free time (usually two hours) at a shipper or receiver. Typical rates run $25–$100/hr, with $50 common and owner-operators often targeting $75+. Get the free window and rate written into the rate confirmation before you accept the load.
Most detention runs $25–$100/hr after two free hours, with $50/hr common and the industry average around $85. Some rules tariffs allow up to four free hours — confirm the free window and rate in writing.
After your free time (usually two hours) from the scheduled appointment, provided you arrived on time and checked in. Log in/out times and photograph the gate or check-in so the claim holds up.
Confirm detention terms in writing up front, log in/out times, photograph the gate/check-in, and submit the detention invoice with proof promptly. Missing documentation is the #1 reason it goes unpaid.
Yes — on-duty waiting burns your 14-hour clock, which is why the bigger cost is often the next load you can't get to, not the wait itself.
ATRI found the industry loses ~$15.1B/yr to detention and fewer than half of invoices are paid — usually due to missing documentation, no detention terms in the rate con, or disputed time.
Detention pay rarely covers the true cost of a long wait, because on-duty waiting burns your 14-hour clock and can cost you the next load — usually worth more than the detention check. For a shipper that detains you every trip, repricing the lane (or walking) often beats chasing $50/hr. Use detention pay to make an occasional wait whole; use your rate to fix a chronic one.
Detention is a cash-flow problem as much as a rate problem. Keep your numbers tight: factoring cost & rates for slow-paying invoices, owner-operator take-home pay, deadhead impact, rate per mile, and break-even rate.
Detention norms (2 free hours; $25–$100/hr) and collection rates from industry and federal data. Sources: Truckstop detention-pay guidance, ATRI 2024 detention research ($15.1B/yr; <50% of invoices paid), and FMCSA detention-time findings ($1.1–$1.3B/yr driver wage loss). Estimates for planning only. Last updated July 2026. Built by TruckMargin.