If you’re in freight and logistics, you already know detention time is more than an inconvenience—it’s a profit killer.

Every extra minute your drivers spend waiting at a dock eats into your bottom line, strains your customer relationships, and disrupts scheduling across the board.

But what if your IT systems could help you fight back?

Modern transportation operations are using data and automation to significantly reduce detention time—and they’re seeing serious gains in efficiency, cost savings, and driver satisfaction. 

 

Why Detention Time Is So Expensive 

Detention time typically refers to the period a driver waits at a shipper or receiver’s facility beyond the agreed loading or unloading window—usually two hours. After that, charges start accruing. But detention doesn’t just hurt the driver: 

Delays affect downstream deliveries, especially in tight schedules or just-in-time operations.
Idle trucks cost money in fuel, wages, and lost productivity.
Customer service teams spend time managing exceptions and smoothing over delays.
Driver morale and retention suffer when wait times feel like wasted time.

And the kicker? Many carriers don’t track detention time closely enough to understand where or why it’s happening. 

 

How IT Turns Detention Data Into Action 

Modern IT tools—especially when integrated into your Transportation Management System (TMS) or telematics platform—can provide real-time visibility into detention time. Here’s how smart tech helps: 

Real-Time Alerts
Set up automatic alerts when a truck is approaching, arriving, or waiting too long at a facility. Dispatchers can proactively call ahead, request dock assignments, or re-route loads to avoid bottlenecks. 

Data-Driven Reporting
Capture arrival and departure timestamps using GPS or geofencing. Generate reports by facility, shipper, or lane to identify chronic issues and negotiate better contracts or schedule changes. 

Integration with Shipper Systems
IT can bridge your systems with shippers’ warehouse management systems (WMS) to coordinate schedules more precisely. With shared visibility, everyone’s working from the same data. 

Smart Scheduling Tools
Use analytics to determine the best pickup/drop-off windows and avoid peak congestion. Some systems even suggest ideal appointment times based on historical data. 

Feedback Loops
Automatically feed detention metrics back into route planning, customer profiles, and scorecards—turning every load into a learning opportunity. 

 

Washington Freight Ops Need Every Edge 

Whether you’re hauling across I-5 or making port runs through Tacoma and Seattle, Washington-based carriers face growing congestion, increasing costs, and tight delivery windows. Reducing detention time isn’t just about keeping schedules—it’s about staying competitive. 

At Clearbridge, we help transportation companies modernize their IT infrastructure so they can take control of their data, reduce operational friction, and make decisions that move the business forward. 

 

Get Out of the Dock and Back on the Road

Want to see how real-time data and smarter IT systems can reduce detention time for your fleet? Talk to us today. We’ll help you turn wait time into go time.