Logistics terms · Logistics terms

What does Dwell time mean in logistics?

Short answer

The time cargo, a container or a vehicle spends waiting at a facility, from arrival to departure, rather than moving.

For Indian trucks, dwell at plants and consignee docks drives detention cost and lower utilisation. For containers, port and CFS dwell time is tracked as a trade-facilitation measure. Ask our desk how this applies to your consignment.

Period: General definition. Data as of 29 Sep 2026. How we count

We publish no freight rates. Our desk confirms your price within minutes.

The numbers behind this answer

Category
Operations & tech
Related terms
Detention, TAT (turnaround time), Geofence, Reporting time

Sources

  1. SSL logistics glossary

Period: General definition. Data as of 29 Sep 2026.

Need this for your own load?

Send the details to our desk. It confirms your price within minutes.

Chat with SSL

Talk to a person