Can storage or demurrage be waived when the delay was not yours?
When the delay was not yours, storage or demurrage can sometimes be waived, but only by the party that billed it. Storage at CN Brampton or CPKC Vaughan is billed under the railway's tariff, and demurrage under your ocean line's terms. Ask that party in writing, with proof the delay was not yours.
Last reviewed:
Who bills storage, and who bills demurrage?
Storage is billed by the railway. Demurrage is billed by the ocean line. Each one runs on its own clock, so a container stuck at the ramp can run up both.
Storage
Set by the railway's tariff. Storage owing must be paid or guaranteed before the container can leave the ramp.
Demurrage
Set by the line's terms and your contract with it. It runs while the container is still at the ramp after the line's free time.
Waiting time
Billed for a truck held past the free time on the rate confirmation. Not a railway or line charge.
How each clock works at the ramp: storage, demurrage and per diem.
Who pays when the delay was not yours?
The railway and the line bill first. Who carries the cost after that depends on the cause and on the paper.
Ramp storage, demurrage and per diem billed by the ramp or the line go to the party the rate confirmation makes responsible. Where a delay is ours, we own it. Where it comes from the ramp, the line, customs or the receiver, it stays with the shipment. The full rule is in our conditions of carriage.
CPKC's Intermodal Services Tariff, effective October 2, 2026, makes the payer of freight responsible for storage fees. At CN, storage must be paid or guaranteed before pickup, as its storage guarantee page explains.
So if the trucker missed the pickup, check the rate confirmation and the trucker's conditions of carriage. If the railway, the line or customs caused the delay, ask that railway or line for a waiver.
- The rate confirmation
- The conditions of carriage
- The line's terms and your contract
- The railway's tariff
How do you write a demurrage waiver request letter?
Write to the line, or to the forwarder who booked the freight. Give the dates and the reason, with proof. The line decides under its own terms.
Name the container
The container number, the bill of lading number and the ramp: CN Brampton or CPKC Vaughan.
Give the dates
When the container became available, when each release came through, and when it left.
State the cause
The hold, the embargo or the refused booking that kept it at the ramp, and who caused it.
Attach the proof
The notices, release records and booking attempts that show those dates.
Make one clear ask
Waive or reduce the days the cause added. Keep a copy of what you sent.
Ask your line or forwarder whether it has a deadline for disputes, and send the request well before it.
Can railway storage charges be challenged?
Yes. Start with the railway that billed you, through the dispute channel it names. If the charge is in a railway tariff that applies to more than one shipper, there is also a federal complaint route.
At the railway. CN sets storage in an optional service tariff. Its intermodal escalation guide, updated September 2026, sends optional service disputes to the eBill service on cn.ca. CPKC's tariff says disputes are made in its Customer Station within the month of the service summary.
At the Canadian Transportation Agency. Section 120.1 of the Canada Transportation Act covers charges and terms in a railway tariff that applies to more than one shipper. A shipper subject to them can complain to the Agency in writing. The Act counts anyone who sends or receives goods by carrier as a shipper.
If the Agency finds the charges or terms unreasonable, it can set new ones by order, for up to one year. The section does not apply to rates for moving the traffic. The Agency's page on these disputes lists facilitation and mediation, which are informal, and arbitration and adjudication, which are formal.
- Charges in a railway tariff
- Tariffs that apply to more than one shipper
- Not rates for moving the traffic
- Not ocean line demurrage or per diem
The Agency says filing a complaint costs nothing.
What proof helps a waiver request?
Records from the railway, the line and the trucker, each with a date.
Arrival and availability
Save the railway's tracking: when the container arrived and became available. Each status, explained.
Customs and line releases
The date of the customs release and of the line's release. Your customs broker and your line have both.
Holds, embargoes, transfers
Any railway or line notice: a hold, an embargo, congestion, a strike or a move to an off-site yard.
Where a truck was involved, add the booking attempts and the documented in and out times. If the arrival notice and the railway's notice disagree, keep both.
What if an embargo, congestion or a strike caused the delay?
Read the railway's own notice for the event, and keep it with your request. Its tariff and notices set how its charges apply.
CPKC's intermodal tariff, for example, has force majeure terms, with specific terms for detention and storage fees. Ask the railway in writing whether they apply to your container.
If congestion moves a container off site, CPKC's tariff says the payer of freight is notified first. Transfer and off-site storage fees apply on top, and the storage clock keeps running.
More on each event: rail embargoes and ramp congestion, and containers during a rail strike.
- The embargo notice
- The strike or lockout notice
- The off-site transfer notice
- The line's delay notice
What does Setara Transport do?
We work to keep a container from sitting at the ramp in the first place. Send us the container number and we tell you what is still missing.
- The container number and the ramp
- Both last free days: the railway's and the line's
- Where the releases stand
- Any hold or notice you have received
- Check the releases and holds, and flag what is missing
- Book the pickup at the ramp: the CN Brampton gate appointment or the CPKC Vaughan pickup
- Give you the earliest pickup we can offer once the container is released
How fast? It depends on the releases, the ramp and the schedule that day, so we do not promise a time here. We do not set storage or demurrage, and we cannot waive them. Under our conditions of carriage, where a delay is ours, we own it.
General information, not legal advice. The tariffs, the line's terms and your contracts decide each case.
Waiver questions.
Who pays demurrage if the trucker misses the pickup?
Can demurrage be waived?
Can railway storage be waived?
Who do I ask for a demurrage waiver?
Can I complain about railway storage charges in Canada?
More answers for importers.
Storage and demurrage at the ramp
Who bills each chargeWhat does a rail embargo mean?
Embargoes, congestion and off-site movesWhat happens during a rail strike?
Containers at or heading to the rampsWhat does arrived at the rail ramp mean?
Each rail status, and what pickup needsAll answers
Every answer for importers and forwardersContainer stuck at the ramp? Send us the number.
We check the releases and holds and tell you what is still missing.