Detention & Demurrage Monitoring Automation for Cross-Border Freight

Track dwell time on every load automatically so detention and demurrage never slip by unbilled. Built for how cross-border freight actually moves. This is exactly the kind of high-volume, rules-based work that a purpose-built AI agent handles better than a busy desk — and it’s what FastFreight’s Tracking Agent was built to do.

The problem with manual detention and demurrage monitoring

Dwell clocks start quietly at the dock and the rail ramp, and without constant watching, brokerages eat detention and demurrage they were entitled to recover. Cross-border moves add customs documentation, broker handoffs, and border-wait uncertainty that manual workflows routinely fumble.

How the agentic workflow runs

The Tracking Agent is the primary actor, but it does not operate in isolation. A load event, inbox message, status change, or scheduled check triggers the workflow; the agent reads context from ELD / telematics, Office 365, and Your TMS, applies your operating rules, and hands exceptions or high-impact decisions to a person.

1. 1Records arrival and departure times against each appointment window.
2. 2Runs the dwell clock automatically for every stop and container.
3. 3Alerts the desk the moment free time is about to expire.
4. 4Compiles the documentation needed to bill or dispute the charge.

What you get

• Recover detention and demurrage you used to write off
• Catch dwell risk before free time runs out
• Document every charge without manual timekeeping

The point of automating detention and demurrage monitoring is not to replace your reps — it is to hand the repetitive, rules-based portion to the Tracking Agent so your people spend their time on relationships, negotiation, and the exceptions that actually need judgment.

Works with your existing stack

No rip-and-replace. This automation connects to ELD / telematics, Office 365, and Your TMS and layers onto the tools your team uses today, so detention and demurrage monitoring improves without a migration project.

How FastFreight implements this workflow

1. 1Map the current detention and demurrage monitoring SOP, including triggers, decisions, handoffs, and exception paths.
2. 2Connect ELD / telematics, Office 365, and Your TMS and identify the source of truth for every required field.
3. 3Configure authority limits, service rules, escalation thresholds, and human approval points for the Tracking Agent.
4. 4Launch on a controlled set of live freight, review the audit trail, and compare outcomes with the current process.
5. 5Tune the workflow and expand coverage only after the agent consistently performs inside the approved guardrails.

FastFreight provides both the agent platform and the implementation work. Dispatchers, carriers, and brokers supply the operating knowledge; our team translates it into a connected, governed workflow and continuously improves it as the operation changes.