FMC to Host Demurrage and Detention Research Symposium

The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) will host a research symposium on March 31, 2027, at its headquarters in Washington, D.C. This event will bring together scholars conducting research on demurrage and detention (DnD) practices and policies, as well as industry experts who will share insights regarding the use of DnD to incentivize cargo fluidity and velocity. 

The symposium will foster research and discussion that can advance the understanding of DnD practices and their broader economic and operational implications for freight fluidity. The symposium will focus on the following overarching research question: What economic theories or quantifiable frameworks can be developed and used to evaluate the relationships among compensatory costs, DnD charge levels, and the behavioral responses necessary to effectively incentivize cargo movement and freight fluidity?

The FMC is now accepting submission from individuals interested in sharing their papers examining the policies and effects of DnD. 

The Commission especially encourages the submission of papers that develop and/or evaluate methodologies for setting DnD charges above compensatory costs in order to maintain and demonstrate an effective incentive. Papers may also develop or examine methodologies to assess behavioral responses to DnD charges and how those responses can be deployed to improve cargo velocity and freight fluidity.

Key dates

• Deadline for submissions – February 15, 2027
• Notification to author(s) – March 1, 2027
• Registration opens and agenda announced – March 1, 2027
• Research symposium – March 31, 2027

The research symposium will focus on the following key themes and questions:

Overall incentivizing mechanism:

• Establish a quantifiable economic framework for determining whether, and by how much, DnD charges must differ from actual compensatory costs to effectively incentivize the desired behavioral responses.
• Identify controllable and uncontrollable factors associated with DnD and evaluate how these factors affect charge levels, compensatory costs, and incentive effectiveness.

DnD charges:

• What factors impact the effectiveness of DnD charges as financial incentives?
• Examine how DnD terms and rates are negotiated and determine how contractual relationships, the Incoterms, and/or government holds influence the level and structure of DnD charges.
• Examine decision-making alignment across relevant parties, including whether the party that controls the relevant operational behavior is consistently the party that bears the financial consequences of DnD charges.

Compensatory costs:

• How should compensatory costs associated with DnD be identified, measured, and quantified?
• How can one deploy a quantifiable framework for compensatory costs, including actual costs and opportunity costs, associated with DnD and identify the factors that influence those costs?

Behavioral changes:

• What is the demonstrated relationship between increases in DnD charges and incremental improvements in the desired behavior, and at what point do diminishing returns occur?
• Examine how behavioral responses to DnD incentives translate into improvements in cargo velocity and overall freight fluidity.

If you are interested in submitting a paper, please send an executive summary, extended abstract, or completed paper by February 15, 2027, to Grace Wang at WWang@fmc.gov. You will receive an email confirming receipt of your submission. Preference to participate in the symposium will be given to completed papers.

Accepted participants should expect to receive notification by March 1, 2027. For those interested in attending the conference as audience members, registration will open March 1, 2027. This symposium will be held at FMC Headquarters: 800 North Capitol Street, N.W. Washington, D.C., 20573. For more information or questions, please contact Grace Wang at WWang@fmc.gov and Melina Reilly at MReilly@fmc.gov.

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