Executive Summary: A federal appeals court decision involving detention charges during a three-day Port of Savannah closure underscores why the operating record behind a container move matters. Freight Management Inc. identifies five documentation priorities for drayage shippers and freight forwarders: container availability and free-time milestones, terminal and empty-return conditions, timestamped shipment events, supporting communications and records, and reconciliation of the final invoice against what occurred.
The focus is not on assuming a charge is valid or invalid. It is on preserving the facts needed to understand what happened, when conditions changed, and what options were actually available during the move.
Freight Management Inc. says container availability, terminal access, return conditions, shipment timelines and charge documentation should be preserved throughout the drayage process, not reconstructed after a dispute occurs.
ITASCA, Ill. — Freight Management Inc. (FMI) has outlined five drayage documentation priorities for shippers and freight forwarders following a federal appeals court decision that upheld the Federal Maritime Commission’s determination that detention charges imposed during a three-day Port of Savannah closure were unreasonable.
The April 28, 2026, decision in Evergreen Shipping Agency (America) Corp. v. Federal Maritime Commission involved TCW, Inc. and $510 in disputed detention charges for May 23 through May 25, 2020. TCW had possession of an Evergreen container and chassis but could not return the equipment while the port was closed.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit denied Evergreen’s petition for review after concluding that the FMC had adequate grounds for its determination. The ruling did not establish that every detention charge incurred during a closure is automatically unreasonable. Instead, the analysis centered on what actually occurred during the disputed period, including whether the equipment could be retrieved and returned and whether the carrier incurred costs from the delay.
The company says the operational takeaway is that shippers and freight forwarders should be able to establish what happened, when it happened and what the parties could reasonably do while a container was moving.
“A detention dispute should not force the shipper, forwarder, broker and carrier to dig through weeks of emails and try to rebuild the shipment from memory,” said Bob Mayo, president and CEO of Freight Management Inc. “The availability date, last free day, terminal conditions, appointments, return instructions, exceptions and supporting records should already be connected to the move. Good documentation does not make legitimate charges disappear. It makes it easier to understand what happened and what supports the final invoice.”
FMI’s first documentation priority is maintaining accurate container availability and free-time milestones. Actual availability can differ from estimated arrival, so the operating record should preserve availability dates, last free day, holds, early return dates when applicable and changes to those milestones.
A second priority is preserving terminal-access and empty-return conditions. Terminal closure notices, gate hours, return instructions, appointment availability, changes in return locations and records showing when a return could or could not be completed can establish the circumstances surrounding a delay. In the Savannah dispute, the court considered the fact that the port gates were closed to deliveries during the disputed period.
The third priority is maintaining a timestamped operational timeline. Pickup and delivery appointments, equipment release, attempted returns, holds, changed instructions, carrier notices and actions taken in response to an exception should form a chronology of the move rather than exist as disconnected messages. FMI has previously addressed the role of documentation in multi-container drayage, where separate container movements can generate different timelines, exceptions, records and charges.
FMI’s fourth priority is retaining records that corroborate that timeline. Terminal notices, carrier and customer communications, appointment confirmations, portal records, equipment-return instructions, bills of lading, proofs of delivery and exception notes can provide context when questions arise later.
The fifth priority is reconciling the final invoice against the operational record already created. The company says container and bill-of-lading information, free-time dates, availability, charged dates, applicable rates and events occurring during those dates should be reviewed together rather than treating the invoice as a separate administrative process.
FMI says monitoring and documentation should operate as part of the same transportation-management process, with shipment milestones, exception records, supporting documents and accessorial information kept together as conditions change.
“The useful record is the one being built while the shipment is happening,” Mayo said. “Finding out afterward that a container missed a window is one piece of information. Knowing what was available, what the terminal allowed, what changed and what the team did about it gives everyone a much clearer picture.”
The company recommends that shippers and freight forwarders understand what milestones their drayage provider retains, how terminal restrictions and exceptions are recorded, where supporting documentation is stored and whether accessorial charges can be explained using the operating record behind the shipment.
FMI’s Drayage Decision Checklist provides a pre-booking process for reviewing actual container availability, last free day, equipment requirements and potential accessorial exposure before capacity is committed.
Freight Management Inc. is a U.S.-based, non-asset freight brokerage and logistics provider with more than 40 years of transportation experience.
Frequently Asked Questions
What drayage documentation should shippers and freight forwarders retain?
Useful records include actual container availability, last free day, terminal or rail-ramp notices, appointment confirmations, empty-return instructions, holds, attempted returns, bills of lading, proofs of delivery, carrier communications and exception notes. The goal is to maintain a chronological operating record that shows what happened, when conditions changed and what actions were taken.
Why does actual container availability matter when reviewing detention charges?
A container’s estimated arrival does not necessarily mean it is available for pickup. Recording actual availability, last free day, holds and changes to release status helps establish when a drayage provider could reasonably begin acting on the move. Those milestones can later provide important context when comparing the operating record with dates shown on an invoice.
What should be documented when an empty container cannot be returned?
The operating record should preserve terminal closures, gate hours, appointment availability, empty-return instructions, changes in return locations, relevant notices and any attempted returns or communications with carriers and terminals. These records help establish whether return conditions changed and what options were actually available to the parties during the period in question.
How should a detention invoice be compared with the shipment record?
Review the invoice alongside the container or bill-of-lading information, actual availability, free-time dates, charged dates, applicable rates, terminal conditions, appointments and recorded exceptions. The purpose is not to assume a charge is valid or invalid, but to determine whether the billed period can be understood and supported by the documented chronology of the shipment.
Does the court ruling mean detention charges during port closures are automatically unreasonable?
No. The D.C. Circuit decision discussed in this article involved specific facts surrounding TCW, Evergreen and a three-day Port of Savannah closure. The court upheld the FMC’s determination in that case. Similar charges depend on their own facts and circumstances, which is one reason maintaining contemporaneous operational documentation can be important.
How to Manage Multi-Container Drayage With One Coordinated Process
To manage multi-container drayage effectively, U.S. shippers and freight forwarders need more than separate pickup plans for each container. They need one coordinated process for the different timing requirements, handoffs, exceptions, documents, and charges those...
How to Choose a Drayage Broker: 10 Questions to Ask Before You Book
Knowing how to choose a drayage broker means looking beyond the opening rate and determining whether the provider can actually execute, monitor, and manage the container move when conditions change. For U.S. shippers and freight forwarders, the right selection process...
FMI Releases Five-Point Drayage Quote Transparency Framework
Executive Summary: An “all-in” drayage quote may still leave important costs, conditions and operating assumptions outside the opening price. FMI’s five-point framework helps shippers and freight forwarders look beyond the total by verifying the exact terminal,...