Dwell time is one of the most quoted indicators in logistics, and one of the most misread. The problem is not the number itself but where the measurement starts and stops.
When the clock starts
Some measure from the moment a container is discharged from the vessel. Others from when the import declaration is lodged. Others again from when the cargo is physically ready for collection.
All three are legitimate, and all three produce numbers that are not comparable. Comparing dwell time between parties without aligning the definition is almost always misleading.
The waiting that hides
What rarely enters the count is administrative delay — the period where cargo is physically ready but cannot move because one document is outstanding. This gap does not appear in port metrics, yet the cargo owner feels every hour of it.
How to read it
When you receive a dwell time report, ask three things: when the measurement starts, when it stops, and whether documentation delay is inside it. Without those, the figure can only be compared against itself over time — which is still useful, as long as the definition does not quietly change along the way.