In the case of United States et al. v. Contract Steel Carriers, Inc., 1955, the U.S Supreme Court ruled in favor of the government and against Contract Steel Carriers, Inc., a trucking company that had been contracted by the government to transport steel from various mills to defense plants during World War II. The dispute arose over payment for these services; specifically whether or not detention charges could be included as part of transportation costs under their contract agreement with the federal government. Detention charges are fees incurred when trucks are held up at loading docks beyond a certain period of time due to delays caused by others (in this case, presumably mill workers or plant employees). The court found that such charges were not explicitly covered in their contract and therefore could not be claimed retrospectively.

The dissenting opinion in the case of United States et al. v. Contract Steel Carriers, Inc., 1955 argued that the majority's decision was inconsistent with previous rulings and interpretations of the Interstate Commerce Act. The dissenters contended that under this act, carriers were required to file their rates with the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) before they could be deemed lawful or enforceable. They believed that since Contract Steel Carriers had not filed its rate for transporting steel from Pittsburgh to Detroit with ICC as required by law, it should not have been allowed to collect these charges from customers retroactively after filing them later on. According to them, allowing such a practice would undermine regulatory oversight and create uncertainty for shippers who rely on published tariffs when making business decisions.