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This page answers the most common questions about the Chainomics platform — from how the free tier works and what AI credits cost, to USMCA compliance, carrier vetting, document scanning, and data privacy. If you don’t find what you need here, use the in-platform feedback widget or visit chainomics.ai to reach the team.
Chainomics is an AI-powered freight intelligence platform built for North American logistics teams — shippers, freight brokers, carriers, 3PLs, and freight forwarders. It aggregates 30+ real-time signals (port congestion, border wait times, diesel prices, tariffs, freight indices, weather, social sentiment, and more) into one workspace, layers proprietary AI agents on top, and turns data into actionable decisions.Where traditional visibility platforms tell you where a shipment is, Chainomics tells you what is likely to go wrong, what it will cost, what to do about it, and lets you deploy autonomous AI agents to act on that intelligence.
project44 and FourKites focus on shipment visibility — location tracking and ETAs. Chainomics focuses on intelligence and prediction.Key differences include:
  • AI agents that act: Build no-code autonomous agents that scan signals (weather, port congestion, diesel, political events) on a schedule and send email alerts when thresholds are crossed.
  • Proprietary indices: MPAI, PFPI, CBPSI, and SSI are computed in-house from public data — not available on visibility platforms.
  • Tariff Intelligence Suite: Scenario modeling, exposure analysis, USMCA eligibility automation, and HTS classification.
  • FMCSA carrier vetting: Natural-language carrier search with all 7 BASIC safety scores, authority status, and inspection history.
  • Document Risk Scanner: AI validation of BOLs, commercial invoices, packing lists, and customs paperwork.
  • No per-shipment fees: Chainomics uses a credit-based model rather than charging per tracked shipment.
project44 is stronger on raw multi-modal carrier connectivity at enterprise scale. FourKites is stronger on broad ETA-tracking carrier coverage. Chainomics is the choice when your team needs to anticipate disruptions, model tariff impact, and vet carriers — without stitching together five separate tools.
Yes. The free tier gives you access to the full Chainomics dashboard — including live freight indices, port congestion, border wait times, diesel prices, weather radar, and the Hermes View 3D globe — with a monthly credit allowance for AI features. No credit card is required to sign up.The free tier includes:
  • Dashboard access to all real-time operational signals
  • A limited number of AI agent deployments
  • Ask Ms. Z AI assistant (credit-metered)
  • Shipment upload via CSV, PDF, or TMS connector
  • A 5-question free trial of Ask Ms. Z on the landing page with no sign-in required
  • A no-signup sample scan at the Document Risk Scanner
Credit allowances and agent limits scale up on paid plans.
Credits are the platform currency that meters AI-powered features. Each action draws from your monthly credit balance:
ActionCredit Cost
Ask Ms. Z (per turn)1 credit
Tariff scenario simulation2 credits
Agent runVariable by scope
You earn credits back by contributing data to the platform:
  • Upload a shipment CSV
  • Extract a PDF rate confirmation or BOL
  • Connect a TMS integration
Earned credits scale with engagement, progressing through Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum reward tiers. Additional credits can also be purchased directly.
Chainomics integrates with 9 leading TMS platforms:
  1. McLeod
  2. MercuryGate
  3. TMW
  4. BluJay
  5. Oracle OTM
  6. SAP TM
  7. Manhattan TMS
  8. Blue Yonder (JDA)
  9. Descartes
You can also import shipments via CSV upload (with smart column mapping), PDF extraction (rate confirmations, BOLs, and invoices), or by letting the platform auto-seed 10 sample shipments to explore immediately. Direct UI uploads are capped at 20 MB per file; larger datasets can be batched.
These are Chainomics’ four proprietary freight intelligence indices, each computed in-house from authoritative public data:
  • MPAI (Maritime Port Activity Index): A weekly 0–100 composite of 9 BTS port indicators (vessel calls, container throughput, dwell time, berth utilization, rail-dray volumes). A score above 70 signals US port congestion risk.
  • PFPI (Produce Freight Pressure Index): A daily 0–100 score predicting capacity tightening in produce-heavy corridors, weighted 40/30/30 across price velocity, volume acceleration, and movement expectation from USDA AMS data. A PFPI above 65 typically precedes truckload spot-rate spikes by 5–10 days.
  • CBPSI (Cross-Border Produce Surge Index): A daily 0–100 score measuring US-Mexico produce gateway intensity at Nogales (AZ), Pharr (TX), and Otay Mesa (CA), weighted 45/30/25 across gateway volume, seasonal deviation, and convergence count. High CBPSI correlates with longer commercial border waits.
  • SSI (Social Sentiment Index): A twice-daily sentiment score aggregated from r/logistics, r/Truckers, r/freight, and r/supplychain on Reddit, classifying posts as Bullish, Bearish, or Neutral. Sentiment shifts often precede stock-price or operational news by 24–48 hours.
See the Methodology page for full details on inputs, formulas, and update cadence.
Yes. The USMCA Eligibility Wizard automates North American trade compliance checks end to end:
  • AI-assisted HTS classification: Suggest the correct 10-digit HTS code from a product description in seconds.
  • BOM-origin inference: Map each component in your bill of materials to its country of origin and HTS code automatically.
  • RVC calculation: Compute Regional Value Content using either the transaction-value or net-cost method, with dynamic recalculation as supplier costs change.
  • Tariff-shift rule checking: Verify whether non-originating inputs undergo the required tariff-classification change during North American production.
  • De minimis validation: Check whether non-originating content falls within USMCA allowances.
The wizard returns a Qualifies or Does Not Qualify determination with the specific rule triggered (preference criterion A/B/C/D, RVC %, or tariff-shift basis). All determinations are stored for audit trail purposes.
Yes. The Document Risk Scanner accepts PDF shipping and trade documents — including native-digital and scanned files — and runs AI validation checks across:
  • Address integrity: ZIP / city / state cross-validation against postal databases
  • Weight and quantity reconciliation: Cross-check values across BOL, commercial invoice, and packing list
  • Value and HTS consistency: Flag discrepancies in declared values and classification codes across documents
  • Signature audit: Verify presence, placement, and completeness of required signature blocks
  • HazMat compliance: Validate UN number, proper shipping name, hazard class, and packing group against 49 CFR 172
Findings come back ranked by severity — Critical, High, Medium, or Low — with cited evidence per finding. Try a no-signup sample scan at chainomics.ai/platform/documentriskscanner.
The Chainomics platform interface is in English. Ask Ms. Z, the AI assistant, can understand and respond in multiple languages — including Spanish, which is particularly useful for cross-border US-Mexico logistics workflows. Submit a question in your preferred language and Ms. Z will respond in kind.
The daily briefing email is an AI-generated executive summary of the top logistics issues for the day, personalized to your industry and lanes and delivered once per day via email. It is a one-way digest — no configuration required.AI agents are autonomous, configurable, and action-oriented:
  • You define the data sources, topics, alert thresholds, cadence, and send time using the 6-step no-code wizard.
  • Agents run on their own schedule — hourly, daily, or as defined — scanning signals and sending targeted alerts only when thresholds are crossed.
  • Built-in agent templates cover: Logistics Overview, Shipment Disruption Notification, Border Wait Times, Diesel Price, Freight Index, Labor Strikes, and Port Congestion.
  • Custom agents can combine any mix of signals relevant to your specific lanes and shipments.
In short: the daily briefing is your morning newspaper; AI agents are your 24/7 automated operations analysts.
The disruption risk score is a 0–100 probability score assigned to each shipment. Chainomics computes it by combining:
  • Origin and destination geocoding
  • Active weather events along the route
  • Port congestion levels at origin or destination
  • Border wait times (for cross-border shipments)
  • Carrier safety history from FMCSA
  • Active labor actions and political disruption events on the corridor
ScoreRisk Level
0–30Low
31–60Moderate
61–80Elevated
81–100Critical
Each score comes with a plain-English explanation of the primary risk driver — for example, “Severe weather forecast on I-40 corridor through Friday” or “Carrier has open HOS violations and elevated Crash Indicator score.” Critical-risk shipments surface automatically in the shipment triage workflow for human review and action.
Yes. All user data in Chainomics is isolated by Postgres Row-Level Security (RLS) policies — every shipment, agent configuration, document upload, and USMCA determination is scoped exclusively to your authenticated user account. No other user can access your data.All connections are TLS-encrypted. AI prompts processed through the platform’s AI Gateway are never used to train external models.
The fastest way to reach the Chainomics team is through the in-platform feedback widget, available on every page. Use it to report a bug, ask a question, or request a feature.You can also visit chainomics.ai to submit a contact form, request a demo, or find additional resources. For enterprise inquiries and integration support, use the contact form on the website.