demurrage
dih-MUR-ij
/dɪˈmɜːr.ɪdʒ/
A financial charge levied for failing to unload or discharge freight within the agreed allowable time.
Represents a specific penalty for unreasonable detention of carrier equipment like trailers or shipping containers.
The story behind the word. From Anglo-French 'demorrage', linked to the verb 'demur' (to hesitate or linger). It arose in maritime law to penalize merchants who made ships linger at port longer than agreed.
Word relationships
- detention fee: Detention fee typically applies when containers are held outside the terminal past agreed limits.
- overdue fine: Overdue fine is generic, while demurrage is exclusively used in shipping and rail logistics.
- dispatch money: A bonus paid by the shipowner to the charterer for completing loading ahead of schedule.
Commonly confused with
- detention: Demurrage applies to delays inside the terminal or port, while detention applies once containers leave the gate.
Word family
- demur (verb): To hesitate, delay, or raise objections.
Collocations
- demurrage charges
- demurrage rates
- incur demurrage
- free time allowance
Example sentences
- "Severe dock congestion caused freight forwarders to incur thousands of dollars in daily demurrage charges." Port operations report
- "The carrier agreed to extend the free time window to 48 hours to help the client avoid demurrage fees." Contract negotiation
Memory hook
DE-MUR-rage: You MURmur in anger when you get hit with a fee for DELAYing. Demur means delay; demurrage is the delay charge.
When not to use
Do not confuse with general storage fees; demurrage specifically penalties holding the transport vehicle itself.
Fun facts
- During peak supply chain bottlenecks in 2021, global port demurrage rates surged by over 100% in major hubs like Los Angeles.
Explore more words
freight, delay, disembarkation, surcharge, intermodal, stevedore
Take your vocabulary further with LangBlitz
Our English vocabulary app: FSRS spaced repetition, 5,000+ curated words across 119 topic groups, CEFR A1 to C2. Explore your mastery with the beautiful Vocabulary World feature.