Feasibility Decision brief Opportunity board Situation room RFQ

This is the archived Freight Lab workflow. Its historical decision evidence is now inside Plan Freight, using the same cargo, route estimates and live source inputs. This older screen remains available temporarily for its separate RFQ comparison tools.

Open unified Plan Freight →

Freight Lab / Great Lakes decision intelligence

One cargo. Every route that matters.

Test whether a Great Lakes move is actually viable, compare marine against rail and truck on the same basis, find possible return-cargo pairings, and read the live corridor conditions before you spend time on an RFQ.

Selected laneBurns Harbor → Hamilton

Cargo1,200 MT · Corn

Live contextModeled + partial

Market feedLoading

01 / Shipment feasibility engine

Can this cargo move well?

Waterline builds three modal plans, adds live road, trade, transport and route-prediction context when available, then ranks the move.

OriginDestination

Commodity

Quantity / MT

Priority

Pickup date

Live inputs are layered onto Waterline's modeled route economics when available.

Waterline decision callMarine Multimodal

RFQ / PARCEL · Potentially viable as parcel or consolidated cargo, but operator capacity and minimums must be confirmed.

Expected cost$46,699

Cost / MT$38.92

Transit4.1 d

On-time—

02 / Water vs. rail vs. truck

Same cargo. Same lane. Same screen.

Modeled economics are planning estimates, not executable carrier quotes. Waterline keeps the evidence state visible.

01 / MARINERFQ / PARCEL

Marine Multimodal

$46,699

Per MT$38.92

Transit4.1 d

Transfers2

ConfidenceMedium

Potentially viable as parcel or consolidated cargo, but operator capacity and minimums must be confirmed.

Show modeled assumptions

Waterline Freight Pricing v3 · Low confidence · ±34% planning band
Marine linehaul and fuel are modeled as separate MT-mile components
Port/terminal handling and 2 transfer events are priced separately
32% parcel-size premium applied because standalone marine economics weaken at 1200 MT
10 modeled dray miles across both ends

02 / RAILMODELED

Rail-Led Intermodal

$60,894

Per MT$50.74

Transit3.7 d

Transfers2

ConfidenceMedium

Rail-led movement is directionally feasible, subject to terminal access, equipment and carrier acceptance.

Show modeled assumptions

Waterline Freight Pricing v3 · Medium confidence · ±23% planning band
Rail linehaul and fuel are modeled as separate MT-mile components
Terminal handling and 2 transfer events are priced separately
60 modeled dray miles across both ends
Fuel component uses a $3.75/gal planning baseline because live diesel was unavailable

03 / TRUCKMODELED

Direct Truck

$75,176

Per MT$62.65

Transit1.1 d

Transfers0

ConfidenceMedium

Truck routing is generally feasible, but bulk/grain equipment and loading method must be confirmed.

Show modeled assumptions

Waterline Freight Pricing v3 · Medium confidence · ±18% planning band
55 truckloads at approximately 22 MT payload
Base motor-carrier linehaul separated from a diesel-sensitive fuel component
Road/access allowance modeled separately from linehaul
Fuel component uses a $3.75/gal planning baseline because live diesel was unavailable

03 / Historical decision brief

Know what to quote. Know what to question.

A year of NOAA and national USDA/EIA history informs the selected route. Waterline distinguishes observed conditions, market direction, and scenario estimates from prices a carrier has actually agreed to.

HISTORY LOADING—populated series used for this lane

Loading real source-backed trends and local water-level history…

03 / Cargo opportunity board

Find the move back before the first move leaves.

Commodity

Waterline now promotes reverse-lane signals instead of making you inspect outbound and return markets separately. A pair is a market signal—not booked capacity or guaranteed cargo.

LaneCargoSignalReturn pairingWindow

Loading live opportunity feed…

04 / Great Lakes situation room

What matters before you call the market.

Market feed refreshing

Fresh vessel observations0Updated within 24h

Opportunity signals0Pair search active

Diesel context—Selected corridor

USD / CAD—Cross-border input

Marine modeled cost$38.92Per MT · planning estimate

Selected corridor

Corridor context pending

Burns Harbor → Hamilton is being evaluated across marine, rail and truck.

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Marine weather

Weather layer loading

Marine weather will appear when the route prediction service returns live context.

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Network pulse

Opportunity feed loading

Waiting for the public market feed.

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CONNECTEDRoute economics + road + trade + transport

Live context is added when the planner services return it; modeled fallbacks remain visibly labeled.

CONNECTEDOpportunity + vessel market feeds

The board uses the same Waterline public-data gateway and cache discipline as the operating desk.

FORECASTWeather + ETA risk by selected route

Marine weather and route-risk outputs come from the existing route prediction service, not a static dashboard number.

NOT CLAIMEDNo fake capacity or executable rates

A match, feasibility score or modeled cost does not become a booking until an operator confirms it.

05 / Execution bridge

Turn a modeled route into a market-ready move.

Nothing becomes an executable rate or confirmed capacity until an operator or carrier confirms it in writing.

Lane decision gateHOLD FOR PROOF

Workflow state

Evidence confidenceLow0/5 tracked market factors current

Written quotes0Target at least 2

Market contacts0Saved in this browser

Data stateRefreshingStale inputs do not become proof

demandNEEDS PROOF

priceNEEDS PROOF

seasonalityNEEDS PROOF

vesselNEEDS PROOF

portNEEDS PROOF

Next three actions

Confirm executable vessel or equipment availability for this lane.
Confirm terminal handling, berth/rail/truck interface and current operating constraints.
Get 2 more written all-in quotes before selecting a mode.

RFQ builderBurns Harbor → Hamilton

Equipment / handlingSpecial requirements

WATERLINE RFQ BRIEF
Lane: Burns Harbor → Hamilton
Cargo: 1,200 MT Corn
Requested pickup: Flexible / confirm availability
Planning mode: Marine Multimodal
Equipment / handling: Please confirm required equipment and loading method
Special requirements: None entered

Please quote total price, all-in price per MT, origin/destination handling, fuel or surcharge treatment, expected transit, free time/demurrage terms, validity window, minimum volume, and any conditions or exclusions.

Waterline planning estimates are not executable rates; this RFQ is intended to replace modeled assumptions with written market terms.

Market contact logWho has actually responded?

Quote comparisonReplace the model with real terms

Modeled planning cost$46,699

Best written quoteAdd quoteUse total landed price, not headline linehaul alone.

Fastest written quoteAdd transit

This lane workspace is saved in this browser. Public factor status is screening context; quote comparison uses numbers you enter. Waterline does not label a modeled plan as booked capacity, a carrier commitment, or an executable market rate.

Next action

When the route survives the lab, take it to execution.

Open the Waterline operating desk →

Loading Waterline…

Can this cargo move well?

Waterline builds three modal plans, adds live road, trade, transport and route-prediction context when available, then ranks the move.

Origin

Destination

Commodity

Quantity / MT

Priority

Pickup date

Live inputs are layered onto Waterline's modeled route economics when available.

WATERLINE RFQ BRIEF Lane: Burns Harbor → Hamilton Cargo: 1,200 MT Corn Requested pickup: Flexible / confirm availability Planning mode: Marine Multimodal Equipment / handling: Please confirm required equipment and loading method Special requirements: None entered Please quote total price, all-in price per MT, origin/destination handling, fuel or surcharge treatment, expected transit, free time/demurrage terms, validity window, minimum volume, and any conditions or exclusions. Waterline planning estimates are not executable rates; this RFQ is intended to replace modeled assumptions with written market terms.