FreightSignal

Now recruiting paid pilot customers

Stop paying for missed deadlines and invoice errors.

FreightSignal builds practical tools for small US freight forwarders: container deadline monitoring and freight invoice checking.

Join the Pilot Program Try the Free Calculator

No sales deck. A 20-minute call and a scoped pilot.

Live exposure
Illustrative

MSCU 482 119 3 · 40ft · Long Beach

$0 and counting
Free time Expired — 7 billable days
Demurrage7 days × $185
Detention—
Terminal pickupOverdue
Alert sent to the ops team on free-time expiry — before charges started.

$100–$300+

per container, per day — what a missed free-time or empty-return deadline costs in demurrage and detention. That's the leak FreightSignal closes.

Where the money leaks

Two places small forwarders quietly lose margin.

Deadline risk

Deadlines slip. Penalties don't.

Free-time and empty-return dates live in carrier portals, inboxes, and spreadsheets. Every miss costs $100–$300+ per container per day in demurrage and detention.

  • Dates scattered across portals, inboxes, and spreadsheets
  • Charges start the day after free time expires
  • Alerts to your team before the meter starts running

Container timeline

Illustrative
  • DischargedOct 12
  • Free time expiresOct 17
  • Demurrage startsOct 19
  • Empty return dueOct 24
Invoice leakage

Invoice errors slip through.

Freight invoices that don't match the quoted rate get caught late, or never. FreightSignal compares invoices against agreed rates and flags discrepancies for human review.

  • Line-by-line comparison against your agreed rates
  • Discrepancies surfaced in days, not quarters
  • Flagged for review — never auto-paid

Invoice INV-2041

Illustrative
LineQuotedBilled
Ocean freight $2,400 $2,400
BAF surcharge $310 $465
Terminal handling $185 $185
$155 discrepancy flagged for review

Free tool

Demurrage & Detention Calculator

Estimate what a container is costing you per day past free time — or audit a carrier invoice against stop-clock days. Free, no signup — the result shows immediately.

Supports both calendar-day and working-day (weekend-excluded) free time, Day 0 vs. Day 1 start conventions, tiered rates, and OSRA disputed/gate-closed deductions.

Your container

Fill in what you know — the estimate updates as you type. Every figure below is your input; nothing is assumed.

Tariff Counting Rules

Demurrage

Charges for the loaded container sitting at the terminal past free time.

When the container was discharged.

Free days allowed before demurrage starts.

From your carrier tariff or last invoice.

How many billable days stay at the Tier 1 rate. Leave blank if flat rate.

Applies past Tier 1 length. Leave blank if flat.

Non-billable days (closed terminal, customs hold, no appointments) to deduct.

Detention

Charges for keeping the carrier's container past pickup, until the empty is returned.

When it left the terminal. Leave blank if not yet picked up.

Free days allowed outside the terminal.

Detention rate from your tariff.

Billable days at Tier 1 rate. Leave blank for flat rate.

Applies after Tier 1 length. Leave blank if flat.

Days empty return was blocked (no appointments / dual-transaction rule).

Leave blank if the empty is still out — detention will be calculated to "as of" below.

Containers on the same clock and rates.

Blank = today.

Estimated demurrage

$—

Enter discharge date, free time, and a rate.

Estimated detention

$—

Enter a pickup date to estimate detention.

Want us to track your real deadlines & audit your invoices?

FreightSignal monitors free-time and empty-return dates on your active containers and flags overbilled demurrage and freight invoices automatically. Join the pilot program →

The pilot

Run FreightSignal on your operation — 4 weeks, measurable results.

Three steps. Four weeks. A clear decision at the end.

Apply for the pilot

Five fields. We reply within one business day.

Application received. We'll reply within one business day with a couple of times for a 20-minute intro call. If it's urgent, email founder@getfreightsignal.com .

From the founder

Built from conversations with forwarders, not a pitch deck.

I'm Umar, founder of FreightSignal. I talk to freight operations and finance teams every week about where the money leaks. FreightSignal is built from those conversations.

If you run ocean imports, I'd like to talk.

Umar Ibrahim

Founder, FreightSignal

founder@getfreightsignal.com
Add founder photo
/public/founder.jpg
(no stock imagery)

Get in touch

Questions before you apply?

Send a note. You'll get a reply from the founder, not a sequence.

Message sent. Thanks — you'll get a reply within one business day.

Or email directly: founder@getfreightsignal.com

Privacy

Privacy Policy

Last updated: 16 October 2026

What we collect

When you submit a form, we collect what you enter — typically your name, company, email, role, and the volume or details you choose to share. If you use the demurrage calculator, the numbers you enter are processed in your browser to produce the estimate; we only see them if you contact us.

How we use it

To reply to you, to scope and deliver a pilot if you apply for one, and to improve the site and product. We do not sell your information and we do not share it with third parties for their own marketing.

Service providers

We use a small number of processors to run this site: Hostinger (hosting and email), Formspree (form delivery), and PostHog (product analytics). Each processes data on our behalf under their own terms.

Your choices

Ask us to access, correct, or delete the information we hold about you at any time by emailing founder@getfreightsignal.com. Every marketing email includes an unsubscribe link.

Cookies

We use cookies and local storage for analytics and to remember your preferences. You can block or clear them in your browser settings; the calculator still works.

Contact

Questions: founder@getfreightsignal.com

Terms

Terms of Use

Last updated: 16 October 2026

Using this site

By using getfreightsignal.com you agree to these terms. If you don't agree, please don't use the site.

The calculator is an estimate

The demurrage and detention calculator produces estimates for planning purposes only. It doesn't account for every carrier, terminal, or tariff rule, and it is not a freight bill, a legal determination, or financial advice. Verify all figures with your carrier, terminal, or freight invoice before acting on them.

Pilot program

Pilot engagements are governed by a separate written agreement covering scope, fees, success metrics, and confidentiality. Nothing on this website constitutes an offer to enter into a pilot; pilots are confirmed in writing.

Product status

FreightSignal is in active development. Features described on this site may change before general release.

No warranty

The site and tools are provided "as is" without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including fitness for a particular purpose.

Recruiting a limited number of pilot companies.

FreightSignal is in active development. Pilots run on working software with founder support — you're shaping the product, and the results are measured, not assumed.

Join the Pilot Program Try the Free Calculator