Container depot software that knows which box is gate ready and which one is out of survey
A container depot is the yard where empty marine containers are received, inspected, repaired, stored and released back to a carrier or a merchant haulier. Every approved box in international transport has an examination clock behind it: 49 CFR 452.1 sets intervals of not more than 30 months, or five years from manufacture to the first examination, unless the owner runs an approved continuous examination programme. Neurobird holds the gate move, the survey, the repair estimate and the release on one record per container.
Neurobird Container Depot in short
- Record the gate move with the condition it arrived in, not just the time it arrived
- Hold the survey, the estimate and the approval against the container they belong to
- Track the next examination due date so a box is never released past its own clock
- 30 months Maximum interval between periodic examinations of an approved container, except that a new container has up to five years from manufacture to its first examination. 49 CFR 452.1
- 24 months Minimum period the next examination date marked near the safety approval plate must stay legible, and marking a box that was not examined is a federal misrepresentation under 18 USC 1001. 49 CFR 452.1
- Pricing runs 299 to 1800 US dollars per month across 3 tiers. Early access is free.
What container depots and empty yards actually deal with
Why it stays broken
A depot handles other people's assets under other people's rules. The container belongs to a line, the examination clock belongs to a convention implemented in 49 CFR, the billing clock belongs to the Federal Maritime Commission, and the yard gets a stack of EDI messages and a clipboard. Terminal operating systems are built for laden moves through a berth, not for an empty yard that has to know a box's survey history before it opens the gate.
Under 46 CFR 541.7 a billing party must issue a demurrage or detention invoice within 30 calendar days of the date the charge was last incurred, or the billed party is not required to pay it.
The weights used in the calculation shall be posted conspicuously on the container, with the name of the person making the calculation and the date.
What the rules say about containers and the charges on them
Federal examination intervals for approved containers, the billing rules that govern demurrage and detention, and the marine terminal standard for handling a loaded box.
Maximum interval between periodic examinations of an approved container, except that a new container has up to five years from manufacture to its first examination.
49 CFR 452.1Minimum period the next examination date marked near the safety approval plate must stay legible, and marking a box that was not examined is a federal misrepresentation under 18 USC 1001.
49 CFR 452.1The year by which every container covered by an approved continuous examination programme had to carry the ACEP marking close to its safety approval plate.
49 CFR 452.7Window to issue a demurrage or detention invoice from the date the charge was last incurred. Miss it and the billed party is not required to pay the charge.
46 CFR 541.7Minimum time a billed party must be given to request mitigation, refund or waiver, and the billing party must try to resolve that request within 30 days of receiving it.
46 CFR 541.8Timing details every demurrage or detention invoice must carry, including allowed free time in days, the start and end of free time, and the container availability or earliest return date.
46 CFR 541.6Neurobird Container Depot Coverage Platform
One record per container: every gate move in and out, the survey that graded it, the repair estimate and approval behind it, its examination due date, and the release that let it leave.
- 1Record the gate move with the condition it arrived in, not just the time it arrived
- 2Hold the survey, the estimate and the approval against the container they belong to
- 3Track the next examination due date so a box is never released past its own clock
- 4Keep the billing clock visible, so a detention charge is disputed inside the window
What changes with Neurobird Container Depot?
The same work, read left to right: how it runs today, and how it runs once the record is in one place.
| Today | With Neurobird Container Depot |
|---|---|
| A box is released as gate ready and comes back rejected because the survey was never attached to it | Record the gate move with the condition it arrived in, not just the time it arrived |
| The yard knows where a container sits physically and nothing about when its next examination is due | Hold the survey, the estimate and the approval against the container they belong to |
| A detention invoice arrives after the deadline and nobody can tell whether it still has to be paid | Track the next examination due date so a box is never released past its own clock |
Who is this for?
The same empty box, three different yards.
You run one facility for several lines
Each line has its own grading rules and its own approval chain. You need the survey to carry the line's rules rather than the surveyor's habit.
You survey and you fix
Estimate, approval, repair and reinspection on the same box. You need the approval on the record before the labour is spent.
You serve drayage and merchant haulage
Street turns, empty returns and appointment pressure. You need gate readiness and the examination clock in the same view as the appointment.
How does Neurobird Container Depot work?
Gate in with a grade
Arrival captures the box, the line, the condition grade and the photographs, so the survey starts at the gate rather than a day later on a clipboard.
Survey and approve
Damage, estimate and the line's approval sit on the same record, so a repair is never started on a verbal and never invoiced twice.
Release with the clock
Gate out checks the examination due date and the release authority, and the billing dates attached to the box stay visible while there is still time to dispute them.
The yard board, as your gate would run it
Close a move to see the survey, the examination clock and the release status follow the box.
- Released gate readypending
- Repairedpending
- Gate inpending
- Surveyedpending
Advance a step to see what the client sees.
Container depot software questions, answered
Key terms
- What is a container depot?
- It is the yard where empty marine containers are received, inspected, repaired, stored and released. The depot does not own the boxes, so its record has to satisfy the line that does, including the examination clock that 49 CFR 452.1 puts on every approved container.
- What are the container examination rules?
- 49 CFR 452.1 requires periodic examination at intervals of not more than 30 months, with new containers allowed up to five years from manufacture to the first examination. An owner may instead run an approved continuous examination programme under 49 CFR 452.7 and mark the box ACEP.
Does this replace our terminal or yard management system?
No. It sits beside it. Yard management knows where a box is standing. This holds what condition it is in, who approved the repair, when its next examination falls due and whether it may be released.
How does it help with demurrage and detention disputes?
By keeping the dates. 46 CFR 541.7 gives a billing party 30 calendar days from the last day the charge was incurred to issue the invoice, and 46 CFR 541.8 gives the billed party at least 30 days to ask for mitigation. Both clocks sit on the container record while they still matter.
Can a line see its own boxes without seeing everyone else's?
Yes. Each line sees its own containers, surveys and estimates. What is shared and what stays inside the depot is your decision, not a default.
Why we are building this
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Where the requirement comes from
Primary sources, straight from the regulators.
- 49 CFR 452.1, periodic examination required The 30 month interval, the five year grace for new boxes and how the next date must be marked.
- 49 CFR 452.7, continuous examination programme The ACEP alternative to periodic examination and the marking that has to prove it.
- 49 CFR 450.5, general requirements and applicability Which owners must have containers approved and examined under the safe container convention.
- 46 CFR 541.6, contents of a demurrage or detention invoice Every identifying, timing, rate and dispute field the invoice has to carry to be valid.
- 46 CFR 541.7, issuance of demurrage and detention invoices The 30 day issuing deadline and what happens to a charge that misses it.
- OSHA 29 CFR 1917.71, terminal facilities handling intermodal containers Gross weight marking and the hoisting rules that decide whether a box can be moved at all.
How much does Neurobird Container Depot cost?
Priced per facility because the gate, the grading rules and the repair shop belong to the yard. Containers, moves, surveys and photographs are unlimited on every tier.
- One facility
- Unlimited containers
- Gate in and out
- Survey and photographs
- Repair estimates and approvals
- Examination due tracking
- Line specific grading
- Billing clock view
- Several facilities
- Line portal
- EDI message log
- Priority support
Get free early access
Early access means we model your gate process and each line's grading rules before you type anything, and the account stays free while we do it.
Straight answer on where this is: The software is in development. Nothing is purchasable today. Early access means you shape it and pay nothing while we build.
Prefer email? Write to office@neurobird.com and a person will reply. No autoresponder.