# Demurrage, detention and storage: why you get billed and how to avoid it

> The difference between demurrage, detention and storage charges, when each clock starts running, and the six ways to pay none of them.

Source: https://www.freightspot.com/en/resources/help/demoras-estadias-y-almacenajes · Updated: 2026-07-26 · Category: Freight & shipping · Publisher: FreightSpot

This is the most common extra cost of importing into Mexico — and almost always the most avoidable one. An importer budgets the operation down to the peso, then ends up paying tens of thousands of pesos in charges that **were never on the quote** — because they’re charges for time, and the time got away.

## Three different charges everyone mixes up

| Charge | Who bills it | Why |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Demurrage (demoras)** | The ocean carrier | Your **loaded** container is still inside the terminal after the free days run out |
| **Detention (estadías)** | The ocean carrier | You pulled the container out, but **didn’t return it empty** on time |
| **Storage** | The terminal or the bonded facility | You’re taking up space in their yard or warehouse |

The distinction matters because the clocks start at different moments and different parties send the bill. You can be paying demurrage **and** storage at the same time on the same cargo.

## When does the clock start?

Usually at **vessel discharge**, with a period of **free days (free time)** negotiated in your freight contract — typically 3 to 14 days depending on carrier, lane and volume. Once the free days are up, the daily charge kicks in — and it usually **tiers**: it climbs as the days pile up.

> **That’s why it hurts so much:** the charge isn’t linear. The first few days are tolerable; from the second week the daily rate can multiply. An operation stuck for 20 days doesn’t cost twice one stuck for 10 — it costs far more.

## Why cargo actually gets stuck (the real causes)

- The **document file** wasn’t ready when the vessel arrived.
- A **permit, NOM certificate or labeling** requirement surfaced too late.
- The **original BL** never made it through the courier.
- The **importers registry (padrón)** was suspended, or the broker’s power of attorney (encargo conferido) wasn’t accepted.
- A **customs exam** turned up a discrepancy.
- Nobody lined up the **trucking** to pull the box on time.
- The container was unloaded at the warehouse and returned late (pure detention).

## The six ways to never pay them

- **Negotiate free days when you quote the freight**, not once there’s a problem. It’s a negotiable variable and almost nobody negotiates it.
- **Send documents to your customs broker when the vessel sails**, not when it arrives: classification and filing get done in advance.
- **Close out the regulatory items before loading** (NOMs, permits, registries).
- **Insist on telex release** unless there’s a financial reason for an original BL.
- **Book the trucking ahead of time**, not the day the cargo releases.
- **Return the empty the same day you unload.** Detention accrues silently and shows up on an invoice three weeks later.

## If the charges already hit

They’re negotiable. Carriers and terminals have **waiver** and discount processes, especially when the cause was outside the importer’s control (port congestion, a carrier documentation error) or when you’re a repeat customer. But it isn’t granted on its own: you have to ask, with backup, and fast.

**At FreightSpot, watching the clock is part of the service:** we flag it before the free days run out, not after. [Get a quote from us](https://www.freightspot.com/en/contact) and compare what each proposal actually includes.

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Need to move cargo or sort out a filing? [Contact FreightSpot](https://www.freightspot.com/en/contact) · Tel. +52 55 5351-8362 · hello@freightspot.com