# 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.

- URL: https://neurobird.com/containerdepot/
- Product: Neurobird Container Depot Coverage Platform
- Niche: container depot
- Buyer: container depots and empty yards
- Status: in development, open for early access
- Updated: 2026-08-22

## What Neurobird Container Depot does

- 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
- Keep the billing clock visible, so a detention charge is disputed inside the window

## How it works

1. **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.
2. **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.
3. **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.

## From the source material

> 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.

Source: OSHA 29 CFR 1917.71, terminal facilities handling intermodal containers, https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1917/1917.71

## Industry context

- **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. (source: 49 CFR 452.1, https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/452.1)
- **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. (source: 49 CFR 452.1, https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/452.1)
- **1987** The year by which every container covered by an approved continuous examination programme had to carry the ACEP marking close to its safety approval plate. (source: 49 CFR 452.7, https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/452.7)
- **30 days** Window 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. (source: 46 CFR 541.7, https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/46/541.7)
- **30 days** Minimum 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. (source: 46 CFR 541.8, https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/46/541.8)
- **8 fields** Timing 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. (source: 46 CFR 541.6, https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/46/541.6)

## Pricing

- Single yard: $299 per month
- Depot: $750 per month
- Multi yard: $1,800 per month

## Questions

### 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.

## Sources

- [49 CFR 452.1, periodic examination required](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/452.1)
- [49 CFR 452.7, continuous examination programme](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/452.7)
- [49 CFR 450.5, general requirements and applicability](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/450.5)
- [46 CFR 541.6, contents of a demurrage or detention invoice](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/46/541.6)
- [46 CFR 541.7, issuance of demurrage and detention invoices](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/46/541.7)
- [OSHA 29 CFR 1917.71, terminal facilities handling intermodal containers](https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1917/1917.71)

## Contact

- office@neurobird.com
- https://neurobird.com/