TransmetriQ Blog

Empowering Rail Shippers to Control Demurrage Fees

Written by Danny Dever | April 22, 2024 at 8:24 PM

Railinc’s TransmetriQ business unit has launched a demurrage management solution designed to empower rail shippers with greater control of transportation costs.

“Our new demurrage module is an enhancement to the TransmetriQ Platform which provides complete North American rail car management,” says Danny Dever, TransmetriQ Senior Product Manager. “In speaking with a variety of shippers, we found that many were struggling to manage demurrage with spreadsheets. Our solution tracks terminal capacity and estimates demurrage automatically, giving shippers the visibility to take action on cars incurring fees—ultimately leading to a reduction in demurrage costs.”

Rail shippers can incur demurrage fees when cars are held in yards and loading facilities beyond the allowed number of free days. Free days are determined based on railroad-provided rules for specific locations and circumstances.

With new yard-specific dashboards and alerting, shippers will be able to identify demurrage situations at a glance and can now act before charges occur. The new TransmetriQ Demurrage module offers these benefits:

  • helps identify and manage demurrage situations;
  • provides automatic demurrage estimates;
  • enhances yard visibility; 
  • manages differing rules at multiple locations;
  • identifies dwell and cycle time trends; and
  • improves inbound car visibility and prioritizes cars for loading/unloading to minimize demurrage fees.

“We are excited to release this solution, and we are eager to continue partnering with shippers and railroads to make rail the most competitive, safe, and green mode of transportation,” says Mika Majapuro, TransmetriQ VP.

The TransmetriQ Demurrage module was designed for carload shippers, with the launch of a similar intermodal detention fee management system planned for a later date.