The True Cost of Trailer Dwell Time: Why 2025 is the Year for Yard Automation

In the high-stakes world of industrial logistics, every minute a trailer sits idle is a minute of lost revenue. In 2025, with global supply chains under increasing pressure to be leaner and faster, “dwell time”—the duration a trailer remains stationary within a facility—has become the ultimate metric of efficiency.

For many firms, however, the yard remains a “black hole.” Without a robust logistics yard management system, managers are forced to rely on manual gate logs and physical “yard walks” to find assets.

In this guide, we break down the hidden financial leaks caused by dwell time and how Bluetooth RTLS technology is turning these losses into profit.

The Direct Hit: Demurrage and Detention Fees

The most visible cost of excessive dwell time is the dreaded demurrage invoice. When trailers or containers are not moved or returned within the agreed-upon window, carriers charge significant penalties.

• The Problem: Most yard managers don’t know a trailer is approaching its deadline until it’s already too late.

• The IoT Solution: By deploying an RTLS Starter Kit, you can set automated geofencing alerts. If a high-priority trailer sits for more than 48 hours, the system sends an instant notification to the yard spotter, ensuring it moves to the dock before fees accrue.

The Hidden Leak: “Trailer Search Time”

How much do you pay your yard drivers to simply “look” for things? In a manual yard, a driver can spend 20–30 minutes searching for a specific trailer because it was logged in the wrong row or moved without a digital record.

• The Impact: If you have 10 drivers losing an hour a day to searching, you are losing 3,650 man-hours per year.

• The IoT Solution: With sub-meter accuracy from BLE asset tracking tags, drivers see the exact location of the asset on an interactive IoT dashboard. Search time is reduced from 20 minutes to 20 seconds.

Opportunity Cost: Lower Facility Throughput in Yard Management

Dwell time isn’t just about the trailer; it’s about the dock. If an idle trailer is hogging a dock or blocking an aisle, you cannot bring in new inbound shipments. This lowers your total facility throughput.

• The Goal: Maximising “Dock Turns.”

• The Strategy: Use real-time data to identify “cold spots” in your yard. By integrating yard data with your warehouse inventory tracking, you can synchronise inbound arrival with dock availability, ensuring a “just-in-time” flow.

Safety and Liability Risks

A congested yard with high dwell times is a dangerous yard. When trailers are packed tightly, and drivers are rushing to make up for lost time, the risk of collisions increases.

• Worker Safety: IoT doesn’t just track assets; it protects people. Worker tracking and safety systems can be integrated into the same mesh network to provide proximity alerts between pedestrians and moving yard spotters.

Transitioning from Manual to “0-Wire” Automation

The biggest barrier to yard automation used to be the cost of infrastructure. Traditional RFID required digging trenches for power and data cables.

In 2025, Ripples IoT has eliminated this barrier with 0-Wire Mesh Architecture. Our anchors are battery-powered, meaning you can digitise your entire yard in a single weekend.

Are you ready to stop the bleed on the Trailer Dwell Time

The true cost of dwell time is far higher than a simple detention fee—it is the cost of a stagnant supply chain.

Speak with a Ripples IoT Expert today to see how our yard management solutions can provide 100% visibility for your facility, or start small with our Bluetooth RTLS Starter Kit.