uld_lookup
Retrieve air-cargo ULD specifications (dimensions, weights, volume, compatible aircraft) by IATA code, category, or deck position.
Instructions
Look up air-cargo ULD (Unit Load Device) specifications — 16 types spanning lower-deck containers (AKE/LD3 and family), main-deck pallets (PMC, PAG and family) and temperature-controlled units. Each record carries external/internal/door dimensions (cm), tare and max gross weight (kg), usable volume (m³), deck position and compatible aircraft.
Provide type as an IATA code ("AKE", "PMC") or slug ("ake-ld3"); omit it to list all 16; category (container | pallet | special) and deck (lower | main) filter the list.
Behavior: read-only; an unknown type errors with the valid list; per-record provenance (sources, audited_at, decision_rationale) is included. Rate-limited (anonymous use: 25 requests/day per IP): a 429 error body carries retry_after_seconds and a Retry-After header — back off and retry, or call get_subscribe_link for higher limits.
Returns: the ULD record (or filtered list) under result, plus confidence, _source and citation (the FreightUtils v1 response envelope).
Limitations: specs are compiled from manufacturer and carrier-published sources with ≥7 cited sources per record. Provenance is PENDING, not verified — read the envelope's provenance_status rather than this sentence. Second-agent coverage is now COMPLETE — every cited record-URL pairing has been opened and verdicted by a second agent, and 145 of 148 citations carry a timestamped read (the 3 without one were never opened, and say so). COVERAGE IS NOT AGREEMENT, which is why provenance is still pending: reading every page is what made the disagreements visible, not what resolved them. The second agent also WITHDRAWS stamps — pages a first pass had confirmed turned out not to list the code, or to disagree once somebody read the words around them — so treat an unstamped citation as evidence that was tried and failed, not evidence not yet gathered. CORROBORATION IS COUNTED BY PUBLISHER, NOT BY URL: the 148 citations resolve to 125 distinct sources, because several records cite one publisher at several of its own addresses (one carrier's pallet table appears in three of its documents) and several forwarders republish a single upstream template. Two citations of the same source cannot corroborate each other, so a long source list is not the same as a well-corroborated record. Treat tare_weight with particular caution: it is confirmed by no non-tertiary source on 13 of the 16 records. PGA's 565 kg is now read-confirmed by one carrier (Cathay, basis stated on the page as including nets) while two other carrier pages publish 535 kg and 505-545 kg on that same basis, so it is the top of a contested band rather than an agreed figure. Confidence is medium and a PROVENANCE_PENDING advisory rides every response. Pallet records (PMC, PAG, PGA, PLA, PAJ, PMCQ7) have NO internal dimensions — a pallet has no walls or roof; read max_build_up_height_cm for the aircraft contour ceiling and do not multiply dimensions to get a volume. Airline-specific ULD variants still differ; confirm operationally critical dimensions with the carrier.
Related: chargeable_weight_calculator (what the cargo inside is billed at), container_lookup (the sea-freight equivalent), airline_lookup (whose aircraft it flies on).
Input Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| deck | No | Filter by deck position. | |
| type | No | IATA ULD code or slug. Examples: "AKE", "PMC", "ake-ld3". Omit to list all 16. | |
| category | No | Filter by ULD category. |
Output Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| ok | Yes | ||
| result | Yes | ||
| _source | Yes | ||
| citation | Yes | ||
| validity | No | ||
| warnings | No | ||
| confidence | Yes | ||
| blocking_errors | No | ||
| envelope_version | Yes | ||
| normalized_input | No |