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Are you interested in moving intermodal freight and expanding your owner operator business? Download the free DrayNow app from the App Store or Google Play store, or click the button below.

In a perfect world, truck drivers running power only loads would be able to get their freight loaded and unloaded right on time without having to wait around at the shipper or consignee. Since there are many factors in the supply chain, there are many opportunities for issues to arise that prevent on time loading/unloading service. This means there will likely be delays at the warehouse, keeping a carrier on location for longer than intended.

The solution for these delays is detention payment, which is charged by the hour after a certain period of time that the carrier is still waiting at the warehouse. For carriers using the DrayNow app for intermodal trucking loads, detention pay starts two hours after arriving at a shipper/consignee for a live load/unload, and one hour after a drop and hook.

The most important thing a trucker needs to do to ensure detention is to show up on time. If there is a hard appointment, it means showing up before that hard appointment. If there is an appointment window, it means showing up within that window. If someone shows up late, they most likely will not be able to be compensated for the hours they spent waiting at a location.

Intermodal trucking deliveries have the unique aspect of going to the rail to pick up a drayage container before heading to the shipper/consignee. This means that drivers have to hit the road earlier since the appointment time is for the shipper/consignee and not the rail yard. Figuring out how far away the rail is and how long it will take to go from there to the shipper/consignee will give drivers plenty of time to arrive at the warehouse on time.

For drivers that are on time and are eligible for detention payment after their wait at the warehouse, they cannot forget to write down the in and out times on the proof of delivery (POD) or bill of lading (BOL). For DrayNow app users, another way to verify in and out times to ensure detention is by updating the app at every step of the trip, but especially when the driver is arriving and departing the shipper/consignee. Updating the app at these points gives a real-time confirmation that the driver is on time for their intermodal trucking appointment, and if driver detention is triggered, they will be properly compensated.

Not only is it a necessity to write down the in and out times on the BOL/POD, but to get that information to the customer in the first place, carriers will need to upload these documents onto the DrayNow app once they’re received and the signatures are collected.

Getting driver detention payment is a nice compromise for having to wait for the loading or offloading process to finish up, but it’s important to remember that detention payment is only available if the driver is on time. We hope that the tips above help truck drivers see how the best way to ensure detention is by being on time for the appointment.

For a visual accompaniment to this information, feel free to watch the video below going over how to ensure detention payment when running a DrayNow intermodal load.