Flatbed Detention Rate Calculator
Price flatbed detention including tarping time disputes — hourly tiers for open-deck freight delays.
Set a tier's hours to 0 to mean “all remaining hours”.
Flatbed free time often runs from arrival at site rather than a dock appointment — and whether tarping/securement time counts as detention is a contract point worth fixing in writing.
With your numbers: 6 hours − 2 free = 4 chargeable hours = 3×$60 + 1×$80 = $260 per stop.
Sources & references
- TIA / carrier-broker contract norms for accessorials
- FMCSA ELD records as time evidence
Demurrage, detention and storage tariffs are set by each carrier, terminal and contract and change frequently. The preloaded figures are editable industry-typical examples, not quotes — always verify against the current published tariff or your service contract before paying or disputing an invoice.
Flatbed detention has a wrinkle van freight never sees: where loading ends and securement begins. A crane can set steel on the deck in twenty minutes, but chains, binders and tarps are the driver's work — and whether the free window covers it, or detention starts when the crane stops, is the most commonly fought clause in open-deck contracts.
About Flatbed Detention Rate Calculator
The defaults model 2 free hours then $60 rising to $80/hr, typical for construction sites and steel mills where flatbeds wait without dock infrastructure. Site freight also lacks the appointment timestamps a dock provides, so flatbed detention claims live and die on geofence data and signed site in/out times. Best practice from carriers who actually collect: define in the rate confirmation that free time covers loading plus 30 minutes of securement, with detention thereafter; capture arrival via ELD geofence; and bill with photos — the loaded deck, the tarp job, the site clock. Flatbed shippers respect documentation that looks like their own site paperwork.
How to use Flatbed Detention Rate Calculator
- 1Enter hours at the site and how many stops are affected.
- 2Set your free hours and edit the tariff tiers to match the published tariff or your contract — every figure is editable.
- 3Read the per-tier breakdown and the worked example showing exactly how the total is built, hour by hour.
- 4Change the inputs to compare scenarios (pick up now vs later) before the charges harden into an invoice.
Why use Flatbed Detention Rate Calculator?
- ✓Per-tier breakdown mirrors how carrier and terminal billing systems itemise invoices
- ✓Every figure — free time, tier days, rates — is editable to match any published tariff
- ✓Instant what-if comparisons before charges harden into an invoice
- ✓Free and private — all math runs in your browser
Frequently asked questions
Does tarping time count toward detention?+
Only if your contract says so — and it should say something either way. A common compromise: the free window covers loading plus a fixed securement allowance (30–45 min for a full tarp job), with detention after. Absent contract language, expect the shipper to argue securement is driver work outside detention; fix it in the rate con, not the dispute.
How do I prove detention at a site with no dock office?+
ELD/telematics geofence records (arrival and departure at the site's coordinates), plus a signed BOL with times where possible, plus time-stamped photos. Construction and mill sites rarely countersign times cleanly — the geofence log is what turns 'the driver says' into data.
What detention rate is normal for flatbed?+
Spot-market norms run $50–$85/hr, with specialized decks (RGN, multi-axle) well above $100 — the equipment's standing cost scales with its complexity. The defaults ($60 then $80) model a standard 48' flatbed; conestogas often command a premium because the rolling tarp system adds capital cost.
When does flatbed free time start — appointment or arrival?+
Open-deck freight often runs FCFS (first come, first served) without appointments, so free time conventionally starts at site arrival. Where an appointment exists, it governs. State the rule in your rate confirmation — FCFS arrival-based free time is the default assumption arbitrators apply when paperwork is silent.
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