Editorial Policy: How We Source and Check Data

This page explains where the numbers on Global Cargo Insight come from and how they are checked.

Which sources we use

We use documents published by the organizations that set or apply the figures: NMFTA for freight classification, carriers for their own equipment specifications and rules tariffs, standards and industry bodies such as GS1 and the European Pallet Association, and US federal sources for regulations. We do not copy figures from other reference sites.

Some standards, such as ISO 668, ISO 6780 and the IATA TACT rules, are sold by their publishers. We have not bought them. Where we cite one of them, we say whose published copy or summary we used, so you can judge it.

How every figure is checked

Each figure in a table is copied from its source document into a data file together with the document's name, link, publication date and the date we checked it. That check date is printed under the table. The freight class density scale is checked against two independent documents before it is published.

Before a page goes live, the editor compares sample figures with their sources, opens every source link, and runs the calculator by hand on a test case.

When sources disagree

If two documents give different figures, we publish both, say which source gives which, and do not pick one silently. Examples on this site: the sixth ISO 6780 pallet size, and the payload of containers rated for different maximum gross weights.

How calculators are tested

Each calculator has a file of at least ten test cases with expected answers worked out separately, including published examples where they exist. Every update to the site runs all the tests; if any result changes, the update stops until it is fixed.

Dates and corrections

A page's "last updated" date changes only when something on it changes, and every change is logged with its date on the sources and change log page. Corrections follow the same rule. To report an error, email contact@globalcargoinsight.com with the page, the figure, and the source that disagrees.

What we do not publish

We do not publish NMFC commodity item numbers or descriptions, which are NMFTA's licensed product. We do not use carrier logos, invent case studies, or present rates or classes as guaranteed: the carrier that moves a shipment sets the final class, weight and charges.