🇺🇸United States

Opportunistic use of D&D as de‑facto storage or leverage

4 verified sources

Definition

Some shippers and consignees deliberately use containers as low‑cost storage beyond free time or delay returns when market conditions favor holding inventory, effectively abusing equipment and yard capacity. Conversely, some providers are accused of aggressive or opaque D&D assessments to extract additional revenue, prompting regulatory scrutiny and refund risk.

Key Findings

  • Financial Impact: Tens of thousands of dollars per year in avoidable D&D per abusing shipper, plus significant opportunity cost for carriers whose equipment is tied up (estimated from fee ranges of $75–$300 per day and observed patterns of extended dwell)[2][3][6]
  • Frequency: Weekly
  • Root Cause: Because D&D is charged per day and sometimes perceived as cheaper than local warehousing, certain cargo owners intentionally leave boxes in terminals or hold them at their facilities, paying fees instead of arranging faster unloading or storage.[2][4][6] On the other side, historical complaints about ‘junk fees’ and unclear D&D billing were significant drivers behind OSRA‑2022 and the 2024 FMC billing rule, indicating a pattern of perceived over‑charging or opportunistic application of fees.[1]

Why This Matters

This pain point represents a significant opportunity for B2B solutions targeting Freight and Package Transportation.

Affected Stakeholders

Shippers and consignees’ logistics managers, Ocean carrier and terminal commercial teams, Regulatory/complaints handling staff, Inventory and warehousing managers

Deep Analysis (Premium)

Financial Impact

$10,000–$40,000 per year in unrecovered/uncontested D&D due to lack of dispute infrastructure • $100,000–$400,000 per year in D&D across customer base (20–30 containers held 10–20 days avg. at $75–$200/day; ~40–50% unrecovered due to customer disputes) • $15,000–$40,000 per year in disputed/unrecovered D&D; 5–8% of D&D invoices delayed or lost to disputes

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Current Workarounds

Claims Adjuster tracks D&D invoices and disputes with manufacturer; manual email correspondence with shipper; escalates to shipper finance if D&D exceeds threshold; often settles at 50% recovery • Customs Compliance Broker tracks clearance completion via port email; manually sends 'pickup notice' email to shipper; if shipper ignores, broker has no enforcement mechanism; D&D falls on shipper but often disputed • Dispatch Coordinator manually tracks regulatory hold dates in spreadsheet; no integration with compliance/intake system; relies on email reminders

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Methodology & Sources

Data collected via OSINT from regulatory filings, industry audits, and verified case studies.

Evidence Sources:

Related Business Risks

Systemic under‑billing and billing‑error write‑offs on detention & demurrage

$50,000–$500,000 per year for mid‑size shippers and NVOCCs (extrapolated from typical fee levels of $75–$300 per container per day and hundreds–thousands of annual containers)[2][3][6]

Runaway detention & demurrage fees from poor coordination

$150,000+ per incident for large shipments, with total annual D&D costs often reaching hundreds of thousands of dollars for active importers/exporters (illustrated by demurrage examples where a single shipment incurs $150,000 in charges)[5]

Disputed detention & demurrage charges and rework

$5,000–$50,000 per month in staff time and concessions for a mid‑size forwarder or carrier (inferred from FMC‑mandated 30‑day dispute/mitigation process windows and typical per‑day charge levels)[1][2][3]

Delayed cash collection due to contested D&D invoices

$20,000–$200,000 in outstanding D&D receivables at any given time for medium carriers/NVOCCs (scaled from high per‑day fees and the 30‑day mitigation window plus negotiation cycles)[1][2][3]

Loss of equipment and terminal capacity from prolonged container time

Opportunity cost equivalent to losing multiple container turns per year per unit; with daily detention fees often only $50–$100, lost revenue from missed trips can exceed fee income by thousands of dollars per container annually[3][5]

Regulatory exposure and penalties over non‑compliant D&D billing

Individual FMC enforcement actions can reach into the millions of dollars in refunds and penalties across billing categories; D&D is a specific focus post‑OSRA‑2022 (risk level inferred from the Act and rule‑making focus on billing fairness).[1]

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