You can do everything right on the freight rate and still get surprised by the demurrage bill, because the number that determines how fast that bill grows is not set by the port alone. It may come from the terminal, the carrier, or a carrier tariff that bundles both terminal storage and line demurrage. Two importers can land the same 40-foot box, use the same four working free days, and incur the same number of chargeable days — yet walk away owing substantially different amounts.
Here is the gap, pulled directly from two carriers’ published US schedules. For a standard 40-foot dry import container with four working free days, the first daily demurrage tier runs $80 a day under MSC at TTI Long Beach and PET Port Everglades, and $370 a day under CMA CGM at New York/New Jersey. Same equipment category. Same published free time. A 4.6× difference in the opening daily rate.
This post breaks down where that spread comes from, shows the published tier tables, and runs one delay through both schedules so you can see the bill diverge in dollars. Every figure traces to a carrier-published schedule rather than an industry average or invented example. Confirm the numbers against the tariff and service contract governing your own shipment before acting on them, because rates change, port-specific rules differ, and contracts may override published free time or tariff terms.
First, the charges that get conflated
Demurrage often appears alongside another equipment-related charge, and the terminology is not fully consistent between carriers. The distinction matters because the tables below cover import demurrage while the container remains at the terminal, not the period after pickup.
Demurrage generally refers to charges incurred when a loaded import container remains at a marine terminal or inland facility after its free time expires. Depending on the location and tariff, the billed amount may represent terminal storage, carrier line demurrage, or a bundled charge covering both. The event that starts the clock may be discharge, availability, the first working day after discharge, or another tariff-defined point.
Detention generally refers to the carrier’s equipment being held outside the terminal after its free time expires. The container has gated out and remains with the consignee, trucker, or warehouse until it is returned empty.
Per diem literally means a daily charge and is frequently used as another name for the outside-terminal equipment charge. A carrier may call that charge detention, per diem, or use both terms in its documentation. It should not be assumed that detention and per diem are two separate charges applied to the same container for the same period.
A single container can therefore incur terminal demurrage before pickup and an outside-terminal detention or per-diem charge afterward. Those clocks can follow one another, but detention and per diem should not automatically be counted as two additional charges running together. We’ve covered the clock-by-clock mechanics — including free time, availability, gate-out, and empty return — in a separate piece on checking free time, gate-out, and availability against the invoice. The focus here is narrower: the import-demurrage tier itself and how far it can swing between carrier-and-port combinations.
Why the same box costs different amounts
A demurrage rate is not one universal price posted for an entire port. At least four variables can change the bill before the container arrives:
Who is billing. The structure varies by terminal. MSC says most US terminals bill and collect their own demurrage directly. At a specified list of terminals, MSC passes the terminal charge through at cost. At TTI Long Beach and PET Port Everglades, MSC publishes its own import-demurrage tariff. The same physical delay can therefore be priced under a terminal tariff, a carrier pass-through, or a carrier-specific schedule.
The port. A single carrier can publish sharply different tier tables for different US ports. Under CMA CGM’s tariff effective 22 February 2026, the standard US dry-container schedule opens at $295 a day, California opens at $305 for a 40-foot dry container, and New York/New Jersey opens at $370. Same carrier and equipment size, three different first tiers.
Equipment type. Reefers and special equipment frequently receive less free time and carry higher rates than dry boxes. Under CMA CGM’s current New York/New Jersey tariff, a standard dry container receives four working free days and opens at $370 a day. A reefer receives two working free days and opens at $745 a day.
The counting rule. Free days may be counted as working days while chargeable days after expiry are counted as calendar days. CMA CGM applies that combination across much of its US tariff, including New York/New Jersey, where weekends and legal holidays can become billable after free time expires. California carries a specific exception: CMA CGM states that no demurrage is assessed on days when the terminal is closed, including weekends or holidays, even after free time has been exceeded.
These are tariff mechanics rather than differences in the underlying delay. They are already embedded in the carrier-and-port combination before the box arrives, which makes D&D structure a real cost variable alongside the ocean freight rate.
The tier tables, side by side
Here is the published import demurrage for a 40-foot dry container under two carrier schedules. Both grant four working free days, which holds that variable constant and isolates the difference in the daily tiers.
| Carrier & port basis | Free days | First tier | Second tier | Third tier | Top tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSC — TTI Long Beach & PET Port Everglades | 4 working | $80/day (first 5 chargeable days) | $150/day thereafter | — | — |
| CMA CGM — standard US ports | 4 working | $295/day (days 5–9) | $355/day (days 10–14) | $395/day (day 15+) | — |
| CMA CGM — California | 4 working | $305/day (days 5–9) | $380/day (days 10–13) | $460/day (day 14+) | — |
| CMA CGM — New York/New Jersey | 4 working | $370/day (days 5–8) | $460/day (days 9–13) | $580/day (days 14–29) | $710/day (day 30+) |
Read across the bottom row and the escalation is the larger lesson. Under the cited MSC schedule for a 40-foot dry container at TTI Long Beach or PET Port Everglades, the rate reaches $150 a day after the first five chargeable days and does not rise further. CMA CGM’s New York/New Jersey schedule climbs to $710 a day from day 30 onward. That top tier is more than 4.7 times the ceiling in the selected MSC schedule.
The comparison also needs one qualification: the dollars do not necessarily buy the same thing. CMA CGM states that demurrage issued at most US water-port locations includes both storage and demurrage. Baltimore and Port Everglades are exceptions where CMA CGM line demurrage is separate from terminal storage. MSC uses several different arrangements: terminals may invoice directly, MSC may pass a terminal charge through, or MSC may apply its own tariff at TTI Long Beach and PET Port Everglades.
The rows above are therefore useful as a comparison of what a shipper can be billed under each published carrier-and-port structure, but they are not a pure comparison of an identical underlying cost component. The controlling number remains the tariff, terminal rule, and service contract attached to the specific move.
One delay, two schedules, in dollars
Take one simplified scenario and run it through both schedules. A 40-foot high-cube dry import container receives four working free days. Customs clears late and the warehouse cannot take delivery, leaving the box with seven chargeable demurrage days after free time expires.
Under the cited MSC schedule for TTI Long Beach or PET Port Everglades, the first five chargeable days bill at $80 and the following two at $150. That is five days at $80 ($400) plus two days at $150 ($300) — $700.
Under CMA CGM’s New York/New Jersey schedule, the first four chargeable days bill at $370 and the following three at $460. That is four days at $370 ($1,480) plus three days at $460 ($1,380) — $2,860.
That is a $2,160 difference on one container with seven chargeable days. The comparison uses different ports as well as different carriers, so it does not isolate carrier pricing from local terminal and market structure. It does show the cost the importer actually encounters: the combined tariff attached to its carrier, port, terminal, equipment, and contract.
Across ten containers caught in the same delay, the difference between those two published examples reaches $21,600. At that scale, D&D terms can outweigh a modest advantage in the original freight quote.
The strongest lever is still keeping the meter from starting. When operations teams can see discharge, availability, and the approaching last free day across every carrier, pickup can be escalated before the first chargeable tier begins. If your team is watching those deadlines manually across carrier and terminal portals, walk through how ops teams consolidate availability and free-time signals into one view.
The tariff direction going into 2026
The CMA CGM figures above already reflect its tariff effective 22 February 2026. Other carriers also revised US demurrage or detention terms around the start of the year.
Maersk updated its US detention and demurrage tariff effective 1 January 2026. Import demurrage increased across all tiers at Newark for dry containers and several other equipment categories, while selected import-demurrage tiers rose at Miami, Port Everglades, and Philadelphia. Import and export detention increased across US locations. The reduced free time at Miami and Port Everglades applied specifically to export demurrage for reefers, rather than to imports or all equipment.
ONE increased import demurrage effective 23 January 2026 at New York terminals excluding Maher, Norfolk terminals, ITS Terminal at Long Beach, WUT at Tacoma, and the Port of Los Angeles. ONE states that the update applies across all demurrage tiers and equipment types covered by the advisory. It also notes that calculation after free-time expiry at the named California facilities follows open-facility days.
CMA CGM published the revised US schedule used in this post with an effective date of 22 February 2026. Compared with its January 2025 schedule, the standard US, California, and New York/New Jersey dry-container tiers all increased.
The broader direction is higher daily exposure, although the changes are not uniform across every carrier, port, equipment type, or tier. Free-time reductions require particular attention because a tariff can increase the total bill without changing its daily rate: the first chargeable day simply arrives sooner.
What to do with this
Pull the current tariff for your exact carrier and location. The figures here show the size and shape of the spread. Your actual number depends on the carrier, port, terminal, equipment type, billing arrangement, and whether the service contract grants additional free time or negotiated rates.
Check what the demurrage line includes. At one port it may bundle terminal storage and line demurrage. At another, storage may be invoiced separately by the terminal. A lower carrier tariff does not necessarily mean a lower total bill if another storage charge remains outside it.
Know the counting rule before the box lands. Do not assume that weekends and holidays are always excluded because free time is stated in working days. Check how chargeable days are counted after expiry and whether the terminal must be open for the day to be assessed.
Treat D&D terms as part of the carrier comparison. When two carriers quote similar freight rates on a lane where containers regularly run close to the last free day, the demurrage structure can be a meaningful tiebreaker. The relevant tiers are usually knowable before booking.
Watch the clock before the invoice. Every avoidance lever depends on knowing the correct last free day while there is still time to change the pickup plan. For where that clock starts and which deadline governs the charge, see how to find your free time and last free day before the container lands and carrier LFD vs terminal LFD. Once a bill has arrived, checking it against availability, free time, and gate-out records is where a valid dispute begins.
Rates cited from carrier-published US materials: MSC US Detention, Demurrage & Per Diem schedule for import demurrage at TTI Long Beach and PET Port Everglades; CMA CGM US Demurrage & Detention tariff effective 22 February 2026; Maersk US tariff update effective 1 January 2026; and ONE US import-demurrage update effective 23 January 2026. Figures are per day, per container, and specific to the listed carrier, port, equipment category, and tariff. Terminal storage may be included in demurrage or invoiced separately depending on the location. Tariffs and facility rules can change, and service contracts may override published terms. Confirm the tariff and contract governing the shipment before relying on any figure.
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