Whoever contracted the carriage pays the carrier, and whoever caused the delay ends up paying in the end, if the contract says so. The Incoterms rule tells you who booked the truck; it does not allocate waiting time. Free time and the rate after it have to be agreed separately, in writing, before the load moves.
The usual pattern
- Under FCA or the C rules the buyer or the seller has contracted carriage and receives the carrier’s invoice, including any waiting charge.
- Under DAP or DDP the seller contracted carriage and receives the invoice, and then tries to recharge the buyer if the buyer’s site caused the wait.
- In neither case does the Incoterms rule decide the recharge. The sales contract does.
What to agree in advance
- Free time at loading and free time at unloading, stated in hours from arrival.
- The rate per hour or per day after free time expires, and whether it differs for a running reefer.
- Who books the delivery slot and by when.
- What happens when the delay is caused by a border queue rather than by either party.
- Whether waiting time entitles the carrier to break the temperature regime, which it never should.
Why reefer waiting is more expensive than dry waiting
The unit keeps running, so fuel is being consumed. Driver hours are being used against a regulated limit, which can force a rest period and push the delivery into the next day. And a trailer waiting on a yard in summer with the doors closed is fine, while the same trailer with the doors open for a partial unload is not.
A border queue is nobody’s fault and somebody’s cost. Decide in the contract which party carries it, or split it. Silence means an argument later.