# freight-pulse 🚢

**Ocean & multimodal freight intelligence suite for AI agents.** One MCP server that answers
*any* shipping question an importer, CFO, or supply-chain agent actually asks — from
*"what's the spot rate Shanghai → LA?"* to *"what's my total landed cost with duty?"* to
*"should I book this lane now or wait?"* — across **47 tools** covering rates, total landed
cost, transit reliability, customs, risk, emissions, and a unified **ship decision**.

> Give it a lane, an HS code, a value — get back **one trustworthy, cross-validated answer**
> with a confidence read, not one vendor's quote. The rate engine, port normalization,
> customs logic, and the accumulating per-lane history all run **server-side** (the moat);
> the npm package is a thin client.

**Hosted endpoint:** `https://freight-pulse-mcp.vercel.app/mcp` · streamable-HTTP, no signup for the free tier.

---

## Why an agent picks this

A single freight API returns **one vendor's number** with no second opinion and stops at the
rate. freight-pulse goes the whole distance an importer needs:

- **Cross-validated rates.** Reads Drewry's World Container Index (WCI) and the Freightos
  Baltic Index (FBX) server-side (plus your own SeaRates key if you supply one) and reconciles
  them into **one normalized USD figure** with a **confidence score** (do the sources agree?)
  and a market direction (rising / falling / stable).
- **The whole decision, not just the price.** Landed cost with HS-code duty, all-in door-to-door,
  transit time + reliability (p90), air-vs-ocean trade-off, customs, risk, CO₂ — folded into a
  single **`ship_decision`** verdict: *BOOK NOW / WAIT / SWITCH MODE*.
- **Its own accumulating history.** Every lane queried is cached with a timestamp; trend tools
  serve a weeks-long normalized series no single index hands an agent for free.
- **Public, non-sensitive inputs.** Ports, HS codes, declared values — nothing secret. Safe for
  an agent to call without handing over credentials.

---

## Worked example — Shanghai → Los Angeles, 40ft, $180k of cargo

```
💲 get_spot_rate     → $5,442 / 40ft · confidence 🟢 80/100 · cross-validated from Drewry + FBX (spread 11%)
🧾 get_all_in_rate   → $6,910 all-in (BAF, THC, doc, ISF, drayage folded in)
📦 get_landed_cost   → $193,180 delivered  (rate + 3.4% duty on HS 8516 + MPF/HMF + insurance)
🚢 ship_decision     → BOOK NOW  ·  rate stable-to-rising, equipment available, transit p90 within SLA
```

One agent call chain, one verdict. That's the difference between a freight API and a freight *agent*.

---

## What's inside — 47 tools

| Area | Tools |
|---|---|
| **Rates & trend** | `get_spot_rate` (FREE), `get_lane_trend`, `get_all_in_rate`, `rate_benchmark` (am I overpaying?) |
| **Total cost** | `get_landed_cost`, `total_cost_ownership`, `customs_valuation`, `customs_optimization` |
| **Decision** | `ship_decision`, `simulate_scenario`, `compare_modes` (air vs ocean), `sourcing_analysis` (China+1 / nearshoring) |
| **Transit & risk** | `get_port_intel` (congestion), `lane_risk_index`, `disruption`, `contingency_plan`, `get_scorecard` |
| **Procurement** | `procurement_strategy`, `build_tender`, `evaluate_bids`, `select_provider` (forwarder/3PL), `record_performance` |
| **Customs & docs** | `required_documents`, `incoterm_responsibility`, `qualify_fta_origin`, `export_compliance`, `check_lc_documents` |
| **Carriers & equipment** | `carrier_recommendation`, `equipment_availability`, `booking_strategy`, `appointment_plan`, `dnd_strategy` (demurrage & detention) |
| **Inland & load** | `door_to_door`, `load_plan`, `pallet_plan`, `optimize_network`, `cold_chain` |
| **Finance & risk** | `payment_terms`, `fx_exposure`, `insurance_recommendation`, `inventory_optimization` |
| **Sustainability** | `carbon_footprint` (GLEC/ISO 14083), `decarbonization_roadmap`, `reverse_logistics` |
| **Monitoring** | `create_watch`, `check_watches`, `market_report`, `special_cargo` |

`get_spot_rate` is **free** (the hook). The deep analytical tools are **premium**.

---

## Quickstart (MCP)

```jsonc
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "freight-pulse": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "freight-pulse-mcp"],
      "env": {
        // optional: unlock premium tools with a prepaid key
        "FREIGHT_PULSE_KEY": "fp_…",
        // optional: your own SeaRates key — cross-validated as a THIRD source, RAISES confidence
        "SEARATES_API_KEY": "…"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

Or connect over HTTP at `POST https://freight-pulse-mcp.vercel.app/mcp` (streamable).

---

## Free vs Pro

| | Free | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| `get_spot_rate` (cross-validated rate + confidence + direction) | ✅ | ✅ |
| All 40+ analytical tools (landed cost, ship_decision, customs, risk, trend, …) | upsell preview | ✅ full result |
| Accumulating per-lane trend history | — | ✅ |
| Pay how | — | 🪙 **x402 (USDC on Base)** per call — agents pay automatically, no signup · or 💳 **card** via Stripe checkout for a prepaid key |

Two ways to pay a premium call:

- 🪙 **x402 (USDC on Base)** — an x402-aware agent pays per call automatically, zero signup.
- 💳 **Card (Stripe)** — buy a prepaid API key, send it as `Authorization: Bearer <key>`
  (or set `FREIGHT_PULSE_KEY`).

---

## On the data

freight-pulse is **indicative market intelligence** cross-validated from public freight indices
and customs references — not a carrier quote or a booking. Always verify with your forwarder
before committing. Drewry WCI and Freightos FBX publish weekly assessments; the optional SeaRates
source is bring-your-own-key (it only raises confidence, never required).

The analysis engine — index fetching, port/HS normalization, cross-validation, the confidence
model, customs/duty logic, and the per-lane history cache — runs **server-side**. The npm package
is a thin client that forwards to the hosted service.

MIT · [github.com/Baneado98/freight-pulse](https://github.com/Baneado98/freight-pulse) · Hosted at `freight-pulse-mcp.vercel.app`